History and Origins

•1929 5 dollar bounty placed on goshawks by the Pennsylvania Game

Commission was made of interest to Ornithologist George Miksch
Sutton who made reports which interested photographer and bird
enthusiast Richard Pough who photographed and published the
unfortunate scene of the hunted birds in a popular bird magazine titled
Birds Lore.
•1934 The attention of the hunting drove Rosalie Edge, the head on the
Emergency Conservation Committee, into action. Edge along with her
son and Pough leased 1400 acres in Drehersville commonly referred
to by the locals as Hawk Mountain.
•1938 The Emergency Conservation Committee secures the deed and
establishes the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association with Rosalie as
it’s first President. Hawk Mountain becomes the first refuge for birds
of prey.
 Flora and Fauna
– 239 Plant species
– 292 Species of Fungi
– 17 Species of fish
– 35 Reptile and Amphibian Species
– 255 Birds
– 37 Mammals
– 476 Invertebrates
1,405 species, and counting, have been identified in
the vicinity of Hawk Mountain. In 2004 Mammal
Technical Committee selected Hawk mountain as
one of 44 Important Mammal Areas in Pennsylvania
 Why is Hawk Mountain important?
• Raptor Migration
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is one of the best places the
northeastern United States to watch the annual hawk migration,
one of nature's greatest wildlife spectacles. Between August 15
and December 15, an average 20,000 hawks, eagles and falcons
pass the Sanctuary's North Lookout and are identified and
counted.
• Counts have been conducted continuously since the Sanctuary
was founded in 1934, except for a three-year hiatus during
World War II. The cumulative 71-year count represents the
world's longest record of raptor populations, providing
valuable information on changes in raptor numbers in
northeastern North America.
 How does it stay running
• Hawk mountain keeps up and running through the power
of members in federal conservation agencies and
committees.
• The sanctuary relies heavily on members and collects
many bird enthusiasts as volunteers. They also rely on
donations and charge a nominal fee for people to hike
through the sanctuary and witness it’s entirety.
• The sanctuary is composed of paid to enter clubs, there
are about 8 different categories listed, each category is a
different price and with it comes a variety of capabilities
as well as benefits.
 Education and Opportunities
• Sanctuary offers College level courses to
aspiring Ornithologists and future
conservationists.
• Hawk Mountain also offers internships to
qualified students. There have even been
international interns.
• The sanctuary offers informative weekend
programs to the general public, people of
all ages.
 Credits
All of my information was taken from
www.hawkmountain.org the associations
website. Most of it was paraphrased and
summarized by me, Steven Harrity, and I
would also like to thank my other two
group members Colin and Dana. Thank
you for your time.