Submitted photo
Hawk watchers on Jacks Mountain. The prime season for viewing is in the fall, through late November.

MCVEYTOWN — When Cindy Bickel says she’ll watch you like a hawk, the Belleville woman literally means it.

Bickel is not trying to get into your business, she’s just a bird enthusiast at heart. Unless, of course, you share a love of ornithology like she does.

You’ll often find Bickel and others at the scenic overlook along Jacks Mountain between McVeytown and Belleville, scanning the skies for soaring raptors through her binoculars.

“I got involved because my mother stumbled upon the hawk watch in the early 1990s and got hooked,” Bickel said. “I would go up with her sporadically, but I really didn’t get up to the mountain much until I retired myself.”

Today, dedicated watchers, like Bickel, spend hours at the overlook, especially during the annual Fall migration which started on Sept. 1 and runs through Nov. 30.

The Jacks Mountain Hawk Watch is a group of volunteer, trained observers who identify and record raptors passing overhead during the seasonal migration.

With easy drive-up access to the overlook, the watch is a great place for the young and the young at heart to observe firsthand the natural beauty of the Juniata Valley while joining the hunt for soaring birds headed south to warmer climates for the Winter.

“My favorite part?” Bickel said. “Watching hundreds of Broad-winged Hawks in large groups called kettles rising up from either valley and climbing so high on the thermals that they actually disappear from view, often into the clouds.”

And it’s not just hawks.

“There is nothing more beautiful than an adult Bald Eagle or two gliding by and looking down at us, unless it is a Golden Eagle and then I really get excited,” she said.

The hawk watchers are gearing up for their 29th year as an official site of the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA).

Visitors might see Bald and Golden Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Peregrine Falcons, Merlin’s, Broad-winged Hawks, American Kestrels and Ospreys throughout the season.

Bickel says her fellow hawk watchers also make the time spent on the mountain special.

“The forged friendships are with other people who share the love of the watch is priceless,” she said.

Bickel hopes others in the community will check out hawk watching from the scenic overlook.

“It’s best to arrive before noon as the parking lots can fill up quickly,” she advises. “10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is often prime time to observe raptors on Jacks Mountain.”

Photos in flight

Members of the Jacks Mountain group have taken hundreds of photos of the birds and shared them on social media, especially Facebook.

Craig Kochel, a retired geology professor at Bucknell University, and Kenneth Tucker, a retired Huntingdon County employee, hunter and naturalist, have each posted amazing photographs of the hawks in flight.

“I’ve always loved photography, but I never had enough time to devote to it until I retired,” Kochel said. “I’ve been taking pictures of raptors, especially when they are in migration, for four or five years now.

“I know other people enjoy seeing the raptor photos,” he added. “It’s nice when I get a good one. It’s fun to put them out there (on Facebook). My hope is to spark some interest in other people.”

Even when the photos don’t turn out, they can still prove to be helpful with identifying the species of birds.

“There are lot of subtleties with the different birds,” Kochel said. “When you only have a 10-second view, you can blow the photo up on the computer and see what it is. It’s definitely a good back-up for identification.”

Kochel says the “citizen science” is also intriguing. Hawk watchers report their daily bird-watching counts on HMANA’s website, HawkCount.org. The numbers reported in Mifflin County help groups in other parts of the country determine when the birds will reach their areas.

“Anyone can access the site and see the wave of hawk movement,” said Kochel, who has been making the 80-minute drive from his Mifflinburg home to the Jacks Mountain’s overlook for nearly 20 years. He has been an official observer with the Jacks Mountain group for the past eight years, performing counts a few days each week.

“This is the closest hawk-watching place to me,” he said. “It is definitely the one with the best view.”

New members welcome

Diane Stewart was taking a scenic way home from grocery shopping in October 2020 when she passed by the overlook and stopped to enjoy the view.

“I was in Belleville looking for some produce and decided to come home over the Belleville Mountain because it was such a beautiful day,” said Stewart, a Lewistown resident.

Stewart happened to meet Kochel, Tucker and site manager Darrell Smith and was hooked almost instantly. The view was breathtaking and the prospect of seeing the migration was tantalizing.

“They are the real backbone of the watch,” Stewart said. “They explained it to me.

“Last September, I went up for a day or two and got hooked.”

Stewart decided to join the Jacks Mountain Hawk Watch, especially after learning she could report bird-watching counts. She is in training to be an official observer.

“After a few weeks, I went out and bought binoculars and showed up on the mountain three or four times a week,” Stewart said. “The thrill of seeing an eagle coming up the gap above the road and directly overhead is exhilarating. And the camaraderie you feel with people you don’t even know is amazing.”

She encourages others to experience it, hoping they will find hawk watching as rewarding as she has.

“If anyone has any interest in seeing Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, multitudes of hawks or Monarch Butterflies during their migration, they would want to come to the mountain with a pair of binoculars and a chair,” Stewart said. “And, if by chance, there are only a few birds migrating that day, there’s always the beauty of the view whether you’re looking at Ferguson Valley or Belleville. There’s nothing like it to refresh the soul.”