Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch counters have conducted a Raptorthon for the past 13 years where we have raised over $16,000; half of which was used to directly support our hawk watch! Our Raptorthon team is named “Rockfish Gap Hawkwatchers“. The Hawk Migration Association (HMA) is committed to the conservation of raptors through the scientific study, enjoyment, and appreciation of raptor migration. The purpose of the Raptorthon is to have fun and raise money to support HMANA’s work for raptors and hawk watching throughout North America.
Our 2026 Raptorthon on May 8 was a big success! Our team (Vic, Rich, Robyn, and Bill) was actually rained out on our planned date of May 7, so we did our Raptorthon the next day (unfortunately Robyn couldn’t join us). We spent the day birding in Highland County, Virginia and had a really fun and productive Raptorthon that ended with 83 bird species including 4 raptor species!
Our day was long (6am – 4pm). It started out cloudy and chilly 38F but ended at 64F and partly sunny. Our first stop was Paddy Knob (elevation 4,478 ft) where we spent a mesmerizing 3 hours! Here we were immediately greeted by numerous Least Flycatchers singing (several building nests!). Other birds here included Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a Blue-headed Vireo on nest, Veery, Dark-eyed Junco, and lots of warblers (Ovenbird, American Redstart, Worm-eating, Black-and-white, Nashville, N Parula, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Yellow-rumped, and Canada). We watched a Worm-eating warbler building a nest on the ground under some big leaves. Numerous other birds were also carrying nest materials. It was a busy place! Up near the Knob we found our primary target of the day; a cooperative Mourning Warbler singing and moving about a lot along with Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and a Veery.
We spent the rest of the day in the Blue Grass valley, seeing more sheep and lambs than we could count! Highlights here included Wood Duck, 2 Black-billed Cuckoo, Killdeer, Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers, Red-headed Woodpecker, Warbling Vireos, Cliff Swallows gathering mud for nest building, lots of Bobolinks, Orchard and Baltimore Orioles as well as Eastern Meadowlark. Raptors included 3 American Kestrel, 4 Red-tailed Hawks, and 9 Bald Eagles including a nest with two adults and two chicks. At one point 3 adult Bald Eagles were circling above us doing some acrobatic maneuvers! Other sightings included Northern Yellow Warbler, Savannah Sparrow, Northern Parula, and Eastern Kingbirds. If you have already made a donation to support our Raptorthon, we thank you so much! If you haven’t yet donated, we hope you will consider supporting us at the link provided above.
Some photos from our day are shown below.
Regards,
Vic Laubach
