The Hawk watch is staffed by volunteers of the Wildlife Conservation Corps., division of New Jersey Fish and Wildlife and is a sanctioned hawk watch with HMANA.org and the Endangered and Nongame Species Program of NJ DEP. Two annual seasonal migration flights, Spring (February 15 thru May 15) and Fall (August 15 thru November 15) are monitored and reported to biologist and raptor enthusiasts’ on w
ww.Hawkcount.org for analysis. Sixteen species of raptors travel thru the Rockaway Valley Flyway during the migration periods. They are at the top of the food chain, thus their health and activity are used to determine the health quality of an environment. Most of the hawks counted come from the Nova Scotia/New Brunswick area of Canada and are flying to South America for the winter, returning in the spring to their breeding grounds.
