Fall 2024 Migration Wrap Up

The 90th anniversary 2024 autumn migration season came to an end on Sunday, December 15, with a total of 12,526 migrant raptors tallied since the start of the count on August 15. The season ended on a high note with a 4th year bald eagle gliding past the lookout, setting a new season-long record of 653. Five staff and 14 volunteers spent 1,096 hours counting over 117 days.

Season highlights include our 4th highest count of turkey vultures with 880 tallied, and we recorded a Mississippi Kite for only the sixth time in the fall. However, the count was down overall with the 12,526 raptors counted falling 21% below the 10-year average and 12 of 16 species having below average counts. Most notable were American goshawk, 67% below average, osprey, 32% below average and broad-winged hawk, 31% below average. Hawk Mountain isn’t the only site with low numbers this year; most watchsites in eastern Pennsylvania had below average broadwing counts, and golden eagle numbers were low at all sites across the state. 

Check out our daily and seasonal counts here. 

Our team predicts that there are still migratory birds north of us, as evidenced by the great late-season flight of 16 bald eagles and 7 red-tailed hawks on December 12 following a strong cold front. So, when the conditions are right grab your hand warmers and head to North Lookout to catch some late season migrants!

A more detailed wrap-up of the fall season will be presented by Senior Research Biologist and head of the count David Barber during the FREE 2024 Season Wrap-Up Webinar on Wed, Jan 15 at 7 pm. Click here to register.