Bake Oven Knob 2 miles North of Germansville, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 22, 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Andre Vu
Observers:
Visitors: 7 visitors today, including a group of young guys from Arkansas who, like myself from Chicago, had never seen a mountain view before coming to the Knob. Nice to meet fellow flatlanders.
Weather: 53-61 degrees F, 100% cloud cover. Very light rain for a couple brief periods. Persistent east wind at 4-19 mph.
Raptor Observations: Bald eagle (1): 1049i
Well, sorry to disappoint anyone waiting on this report who was looking at the numbers other hawkwatches on the ridge got today. I'm not sure how all these broad-wings miss the Knob, but I tried and tried and could not make them appear. Only one small and fairly distant kettle and a pair of stragglers a couple hours later.
But today wasn't a total bust. A few minutes after I arrived, I noticed dismembered scraps of what turned out to be a greater/lesser yellowlegs scattered around the south lookout. About 15 minutes later, I met the likely culprit: a young peregrine with a VERY full crop circled me really close a couple times, like it was asking if I'd leave to let it finish its meal, before giving up and disappearing seemingly north-ish. Can't count it as a migrant, but still a cool encounter.
Non-raptor Observations: Once the first stint of rain ended, ~100 blue jays rose up out of the woods and migrated through! Very cool to see distant blue sparkles against the forest turn into a flurry of birds only just overhead. Had a couple dozen more overhead throughout the day as well.
Predictions: Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 65. East wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Lehigh Gap Nature Center (<mail...>) Bake Oven Knob information may be found at: www.lgnc.org
