Excerpt from an article by Jim Collins in Yankee Magazine

On a cold October morning at Lighthouse Point in Connecticut, Bill Banks stands in an open field and squints into a brightening sky. The distant roar of traffic along the I-95 corridor washes over him. The sun, coming up behind the condominiums bordering the park, glints off the underside of a small plane heading out of Tweed-New Haven Airport. It’s not a place you’d immediately pick for observing nature.

Lighthouse Point sits on a coastal plain along the southeastern edge of New Haven Harbor, jutting out into Long Island Sound. In the fall, thousands of migrating raptors pass overhead, leery of crossing open water, hugging the Atlantic seaboard as they funnel south toward Mexico.

As it happens, Lighthouse Point is ideal for counting raptors and certain other species during the migration. A day earlier, Greg Hanisek, a volunteer from Waterbury, counted 825, including 15 bald eagles–the highest single-day bald-eagle recording since bird counts officially started here nearly 40 years ago.

Read the full article.

Massachusetts – Mount Wachusett

The summit offers a 360-degree vista and view of the Boston skyline in addition to raptors. Last fall volunteer spotters, who help visitors identify species, counted more than 5,000 hawks, eagles, falcons, and aspreys.

Wachusett Mountain State Reservation
Mountain Road
Princeton, MA
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/wach.htm

Massachusetts – Mount Watatic

This long, steep hike brings fewer people and more room to view raptors throughout the fall.

Midstate Trail and Wapack Trail
Off Route 119
Ashburnham, MA
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/rmp/rmp-mtWatatic.htm

Connecticut – Lighthouse Point

The coastal plain site overlooks scenic views of Long Island Sound. The “Migration Festival” is filled with live bird-of-prey demonstrations, guided tours, and fellow enthusiast.

Lighthouse Point
2 Lighthouse Point Road
New Haven, CT
http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/parks/ranger/eastshore.asp#hawkwatch

New Hampshire – Pack Monadnock

Miller State Park’s auto road takes you to the summit parking lot and the trail to the observation site, where during the fall you’ll find Audubon guides to help you identify red-tailed, broad-winged, and sharp-spinned hawks.

Pack Monadnock
Route 101
Petersborough, NH
http://www.nhstateparks.org

Maine – Cadillac Mountain

You can either drive or climb to the top of the highest peak on the Eastern Seaboard’s coastal islands. Soaring raptors compete for your attention with spectacular views of Bar Harbor and Frenchman Bay.

Cadillac Mountain Road
Acadia National Park, ME
http://www.nps.gov/acad/naturescience/hawkwatch.htm

Vermont – Putney Mountain

The survey point here is considered one of the most important along the entire Atlantic flyway. The easy-to-moderate half-mile hike over gentle terrain offers a great view of the Connecticut River Valley and the spine of the Green Mountains.

Putney Mountain Road
Putney, VT
http://www.putneyvt.org/hawks/index.php