Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch is one of over 200 hawk watch sites in North America that is monitored by the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA). The primary mission of Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch is to collect raptor count data during fall migration in a repetitive and consistent fashion. Our hawk watch is a popular watch among visitors and researchers because of the large volume of raptors that migrate down the Blue Ridge Mountains each fall. Identifying and counting these raptors enables systematic monitoring of raptor populations in North America. A small group of trained and experienced volunteers serve as counters at Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch.
Above is a photo of Gabriel Mapel on duty as counter on a cold late November day! Below is a video taken from the hawk watch (by Brenda Tekin) panning from the west all the way to the east. You can see the wide panoramic view that we have here.
Our raptor count data from the current and previous years can be viewed at HawkCount:
Joining the Shenandoah Valley to the Piedmont region of the state, Rockfish Gap is the site of the mountain crossing of Interstate 64, U.S. Highway 250, and the former Blue Ridge Railroad. With an elevation of about 2,000 feet, it is one of the lowest gaps between Manassas Gap and the James River. Rockfish Gap lies along a drainage divide between southeast-flowing streams that drain to the James River and northwest-flowing streams in the Shenandoah River system. The scenic Skyline Drive, which runs north through Shenandoah National Park to Front Royal, and the Blue Ridge Parkway, which runs south to a point near Cherokee, North Carolina, each generally following the mountain ridgetops, meet at Rockfish Gap. The Appalachian Trail also passes through the gap.
Links to several affiliated associations that support our mission:
