Bake Oven Knob 2 miles North of Germansville, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Aug 19, 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Andre Vu
Observers: Mark Boyd
Visitors: 42 visitors today, including one large summer camp group of 23. Interacted with 33 total. Was joined by longtime visitor Mark Boyd from about 11-12:30. Nice to meet you Mark!
Weather: 78-89 degrees F. Low wind early in the morning, picked up to light gusts of 4.8 mph in afternoon. Gradual transition from clear blue skies early to about 35% cloud cover in afternoon.
Raptor Observations: Raptors today were almost all incredibly high, making viewing and identification difficult in some cases. Mark and I watched many specks disappear overhead to leave us scratching our heads.
To compensate, though, I was treated to very nice views of an osprey overhead, an adult bald eagle in a blazingly fast glide downridge, our first kestrel of the season (it's a girl!) and a personal favorite of a sharpie zipping very close by while I taught a preteen how to use binoculars. All later in the day once there was more cloud cover.
Non-raptor Observations: Some continued swallow and swift movement, plus 2 southbound hummingbirds. The same 4 cedar waxwings bounced around all day.
The standout was LOTS of green darner dragonflies early in the morning, especially when wind was low. A black saddlebags and 3 twelve-spotted skimmers were highlights in the afternoon.
A couple found a "huge" rat snake right on the trail just before reaching the Knob.
Also, in between scans I decided to have fun catching grasshoppers. With help from iNaturalist I've now seen 6 types of grasshopper/cricket on the ridgetop.
Predictions: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 75. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Lehigh Gap Nature Center (<mail...>) Bake Oven Knob information may be found at: www.lgnc.org
