Monthly Club Meeting – “Hawk Watching 101: An Introduction to the Hobby and Science of Counting Migrating Raptors”

Every spring and fall hawk watchers gather at migration bottlenecks to witness and quantify the spectacle of migrating hawks, eagles, falcons, and vultures. Join David Brown for a discussion of this niche form of birding. We will look back one hundred years to hawk watching’s origins in Pennsylvania up through the present day. David will discuss how to get involved, what equipment is needed, and the basics of raptor identification. Beyond mere data collection exists a deeper human element that explains why David and others choose to make this activity their life passion.

David Brown is a professional hawk watch counter from Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. He has 14 seasons of experience as the official counter at hawk watches in Delaware, New Jersey, and New York. He is a co-founder of LycoBirds, a website and YouTube channel that provides educational content for birders. David is especially known for his video series on raptor identification and his daily video summaries from the Braddock Bay Hawk Watch.