Hawk Mountain Bird Sanctuary in Pennsylvania

Well, I went to Hawk Mountain Bird Sanctuary in Pennsylvania just before Autumn made it’s exist, and apparently the rest of Pennsylvania did too. I had no idea that many people wanted to sit there FOREVER looking for an occasional hawk to fly NOWHERE near us. It was a mob scene. You would think the hawks were in abundance and coming right up to you. They were not.

It was a beautiful valley though. I would have liked to get shots of the valley over the main cliff, since that is why I went. But…See this guy? He’s a spotter, and works for Hawk Mountain. He wouldn’t move off of the cliff. I wanted a shot of the valley without him on it but he never moved. Do you know why? Apparently Hawk Mountain thinks people are too stupid or too blind to see the hawks, if they would ever come by. So it’s his job to say, “Ooo, look there’s one!” And everyone else says, “Oooo!” Is it really too much to ask Hawk Mountain to tell their spotters to get off of the cliff once in a while so we could get a better shot? I don’t think it is.

You can walk around the whole valley, it’s quite extensive about 8 miles of hiking and many different views over 1400 acres. Of course I didn’t do, that as a short walk is quite excruciating. But I would have liked for all of the “selfie” photographers to move out of the way once in a while and share the view. I don’t like crowds at all, surely you can tell that by my tone. But still, if these folks didn’t “claim” their spot and plant their flag, but instead, moved around a bit more it would have been a more pleasant visit.

I understand Hawk Mountain has gotten a grant to make improvements. It must be coming from the government, “Oooo” that would be me, of course. I really think, since I have no choice but to have it taken from me by force, at least they could tell the spotters to ask if anyone wants a shot with him not in it. That would be nice and then I “might” be happy. But I’m not sure.

So this review isn’t quite as good a report as I would have liked.
Maybe I’ll go back next year and give it another chance.
Maybe.

Here’s the website for Hawk Mountain Bird Sanctuary if anyone wants to visit. You may have a better time than I did. It seems most people loved it. I was probably just a crank that day, we’ll see next year.