Bake Oven Knob 2 miles North of Germansville, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 05, 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 07:15:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8.75 hours
Official Counter: Rick Morrissey
Observers: Jordan Johnson, Linda Blacketter
Visitors: Always a highlight, let's start with our volunteer raptor observers. Linda Blacketter was first shift, arrived on-time yet she said she was late? Jordan Johnson, a first time volunteer observer on our late afternoon shift had that great look at the 1503 juvenile Bald Eagle, which of course entered the bowl right at 1500 EST, yes the proverbial 3 o'clock Bald Eagle! (she may think I was kidding, but these are raptor orientation 'bird facts'). Mid-day Jen from Northampton was a very focused observer, working very diligently to see those distant Sharpshin hawks and was a great help, although she did not want to be listed as an observer. "Hey, you do the work you get the recognition."
Great conversations with 'data driven' Jim and his wife Pat from Chalfont Pa, hope to see you both again.
All in all, 117 visitors today who were real troopers tolerating a peak hatch of stink bugs. I wear a long sleeve sun shirt over my 'free fly' bamboo t-shirt, which I took off before entering my car. Good thing otherwise I would have brought 25 stinkbugs home in my shirt. I'm not taking about my pants, don't ask me about my pants!
Weather: A wide open, sunny, big blue sky all day. Some low fog over Allentown at the start of the count, yet otherwise 20-25 miles of visibility in the morning. In the afternoon, Allentown was in full view with 30 miles of visibility. The low temperature was 68F, and the high temperature was 81F @ 1400 EST, yet it felt much hotter due to the humidity. Winds were from the NW in the morning, then switching from the South at 1000 EST for the remainder of the count. Wind speeds were light, 1-3 mph in the early morning, then ranging from 3-5 mph off and on most of the day with gusts of 7-9 mph periodically. At 1530 EST wind speeds returned to 1-3 mph.
Raptor Observations: Another slow Sunday for raptors, yet being at the South lookout with all of the visitors made it a special day for me (but it's not all about me!). Most of the 9 Sharpshin hawks were high and due South under the sun, which made it difficult to point out for others to observe. The one Osprey was way up over our heads, another raptor counted yet not very visible to our visitors.
Yet both Bald Eagles were nice looks, in particular the Juvenile who popped up over the 'hump' and flew into and through bowl well below horizon before going down ridge. We also had a great look at a male Kestrel which took the same route as the juvenile Bald Eagle.
Bald Eagles (2) - 1329 (adult); 1503 (Juv)
Non-raptor Observations: The tree sparrows did not arrive until about 1500 EST, which was odd. The stink bugs ruled the South lookout all day, I mean all day! There were 30 plus Bluejays which seems low, mainly in the morning. Just 2 ravens, 2 Monarch butterflies, no hummingbirds!
Predictions: Patchy fog in the morning with sunny skies, high around 80F. The winds will be from the Southwest at approximately 5 mph. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Lehigh Gap Nature Center (<mail...>) Bake Oven Knob information may be found at: www.lgnc.org
