KEMPTON, Pa. \u2013 For Sean Grace,\u00a0 it’s not just the cool weather or changing leaves that make this his favorite time of year.<\/p>\n
“There is a sharpie (Sharp-shinned hawk) coming in right now,” said Grace, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary’s president.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Hawk Mountain\u2019s annual autumn raptor count that Grace looks forward to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“You could come out, and quite easily, you’ll see 10 different species in a day,” he said.<\/p>\n
Hawk Mountain staff, trainees, and volunteers spend months counting each and every one on Kittatinny Ridge.<\/p>\n
“We have a tally sheet that allows me to keep track of, hour by hour, how many migrants are passing the lookout,” said Bracken Brown, a biologist at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary.<\/p>\n
That includes hawks, eagles, falcons and vultures.\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002<\/p>\n
“Our high count for one day was 2,909 broad wings in one single day,” Grace said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sanctuary counts an average of 18,000 birds a season.<\/p>\n
Experts have been watching these skies since 1934, making Hawk Mountain’s raptor count the longest running in the world.<\/p>\n
Scientists say these numbers are a lot more than a simple head count.<\/p>\n
“If you see a huge crash in raptor populations, then there’s something out there that’s bad for people. So it’s really being self-interested,” Grace said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because the numbers don’t just show changes in their species, but\u00a0changes in our environment.<\/p>\n
“We can look at, \u2018What are the birds coming down to us from the north? Are their numbers increasing, decreasing?\u2019\u201d Brown said. \u201cAnd use that to gauge areas where we need to do more effort as far as research and conservation efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n
What’s bad for birds up there can also be bad for us down here.<\/p>\n
“If you’re in a place that’s rich with birds and raptors as part of that suite, you’re in a healthy place to live,” Grace said.<\/p>\n
And that’s something you can count on.\u00a0<\/p>\n