As of September 30, 2026, the Bake Oven Knob hawk watch had counted 6,615 raptors this fall, and 4,941 of them were broad-winged hawks. The counters logged zero broad-wings on September 30. The broad-wing flight is over for the year, but the count season runs through November 30. The birds that pass in October come in smaller numbers over more days, and they fly the same Blue Mountain ridgeline that stood bare above the Lehigh Gap in 2002.
That ridge ties the whole month together. The slope that grew back is now where the October bird walks, the trail race, and Blue Mountain Resort's weekend festival all take place.
The count turned over in the last week of September
This year's biggest day came on September 19. Counters recorded 1,018 raptors that day, and 927 of them were broad-wings. Four days later, broad-wings had dropped to 35. By September 24 there were three.
The species doing the flying changed by the end of the month. On September 29, the watch counted 27 sharp-shinned hawks and one broad-wing. On September 30, the 48-bird total included 15 sharp-shins, 11 Cooper's hawks, and 17 turkey vultures. So far this fall, the watch has counted 418 sharp-shins, 103 red-tailed hawks, and two golden eagles. These are the species the October and November records belong to.
The site's history shows how the flight moves later in the season. These are best days on record, not predictions for 2026:
| Species | Best days at Bake Oven Knob | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|
| Broad-winged hawk | 927 on Sept. 19, 2026; 3,220 on Sept. 22, 2023 | Mid-September, already past |
| Sharp-shinned hawk | 355 on Oct. 15, 2023; all-time high of 512 on Oct. 21, 2011 | Mid to late October |
| Red-tailed hawk | 641 on Oct. 29, 2005; 640 on Nov. 8, 2003 | Late October into November |
| Golden eagle | 42 on Nov. 3, 2012; 39 on Nov. 2, 2012 | Early November |
The September flight was mostly one species over a few big days. The October flight is spread over weeks, with sharp-shins first, then red-tails, and golden eagles last as November starts.
Getting up to the lookouts
The Lehigh Gap Nature Center runs the count with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Since the count began in 1961, it has recorded more than 800,000 raptors. From the Bake Oven Road parking lot, LGNC sends visitors onto the Appalachian Trail. The hike to the South Lookout is 0.4 miles on rocky ground with a steady climb. The North Lookout is about another 0.1 mile past the old foundation, down a rocky trail.
On a day when the count reads 48 birds, the walk up is short enough for a single afternoon. You don't need to plan around one big day.
The slope those hawks fly over was bare within living memory
New Jersey Zinc began smelting near Palmerton in 1898. LGNC's history says heavy-metal fallout and acid rain from sulfur killed the vegetation and stripped away the topsoil. The major loss of plant life came in the 1950s. The EPA named the area a Superfund site in 1983.
The recovery started small. The Wildlife Information Center, now LGNC, bought 756 acres in 2002. In 2003 it began restoring more than 450 acres, starting with 56 test plots of one acre each. By the end of that year, every plot had grass cover. In 2006 the EPA approved full-scale seeding with 12 native prairie grass species plus soil amendments. Tractors seeded the lower slopes, and crop-duster planes seeded the steep upper slopes.
The work wasn't finished in a single pass. In 2023, the EPA reseeded more than 365 acres from the air, including LGNC land. The mix included native grasses, wildflowers, pine and sumac seed, limestone, and fertilizer, aimed at spots where plants were still sparse. According to the EPA's site profile, native grasses and more than 13,000 trees now cover 3,000 acres of Blue Mountain. LGNC's before-and-after photos label the slope "2002: Barren mountain" and "2020: Thriving Grassland."
The regrowth doesn't mean the site is clean. The same EPA profile still reports elevated metals in soil, dust, and water in parts of the site, including Blue Mountain and the Cinder Bank. The green slope you see from Route 248 is a restoration that is still in progress.
October's events sit on the restored side of the Gap
LGNC's fall calendar is set on that recovered ground, and two events this month cover the hawk-and-ridge story directly.
The Autumn Bird Walk runs October 7 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. around the Lehigh Gap Refuge. Binoculars are available. It is free for members and $5 for nonmembers. That afternoon, the Ecology Club meets from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. at the Osprey House and the refuge, for ages 9 and up. It is free to members and their families.
The Autumn Leaf Walk & Craft is October 10 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at 8844 Paint Mill Road in Slatington. The family walk covers about a half mile on the River Trail and the D&L. It costs the same as the bird walk. On the D&L, the Lehigh Gap–Slatington section is listed as complete and open at 1.9 miles. That status comes from a 2023 map page that changes only when a landowner reports a change, so check conditions before you go.
The 15th More or Less 10K Trail Run and 2-Mile Scamper on October 24 runs right over the restoration. This year's course is new and runs point to point. It starts at the Nature Center and uses the LNE, Eagles, 3 Ponds, Double G, and Chestnut Oak trails. Then it crosses the rolling Prairie Grass trail and finishes with a final mile that climbs 1,000 vertical feet up the west side of the Lehigh Gap. Racers on that last mile are climbing the slope that was bare in 2002. The event runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the money it raises supports LGNC.
Blue Mountain Resort and the borough fill the rest of the calendar
A few miles west along the same ridge, Blue Mountain Resort holds its Foliage Fest every October weekend: October 3–4, 10–11, 17–18, 24–25, and 31. It runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free live music, pumpkins, games, and seasonal food and drink. Scenic lift rides cost extra. The red-tail records in the table above fall in the last week of October. From the lift, you are looking out over the same ridge the hawks follow.
Mid-October has the most going on at once, so these are the dates to plan around:
- October 12, 6:30 p.m. The Palmerton Area Historical Society presents "PA Colonial Frontier Forts and the American Revolutionary War" in the Knight's Gallery at the Palmerton Library.
- October 17. Blue Mountain's Coffee Festival runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Adventure Center, with music by the Wonton Soups. Kids 12 and under get in free. The Tent Sale at Valley Lodge runs 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. that day and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on October 18.
- October 17, 24, and 31. Fright Time Zip & Climb has two-hour sessions starting at 6:30, 7, or 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40, and guests check in at Summit Lodge.
- October 18. Borough council approved the Palmerton Area Chamber of Commerce's annual Palmerton Halloween Parade for this date, with a rain date of October 19. The council report didn't give a start time or route.
- October 19. The Third Monday Book Club at the Palmerton Area Library, 402 Delaware Ave., discusses And Then We Hit a Rock.
- October 22, 3 to 5 p.m. Lower Towamensing holds a free electronics recycling collection at 595 Hahns Dairy Road. It ends early if the truck fills up.
- October 31, 6 to 8 p.m. Trick-or-treat night runs at the same hours in both the borough and Lower Towamensing Township. Later that night, Blue Mountain's free Monster Ball for ages 21 and up runs 9 p.m. to midnight at Slopeside Pub & Grill in Summit Lodge, with Toolshed Jack and a costume contest.
The Historical Society's next program is "Keeper of our Heroes' Memories" on November 9 at 6:30 p.m., also in the Knight's Gallery. On the historical record, early November is also when Bake Oven Knob has had its biggest golden eagle days.
Cass Chies has spent more than two decades working across Palmerton and the Carbon–Lehigh Valley. That includes the streets below this ridge, where the view of the Gap is part of what makes a house feel like home. If you're starting to wonder how that view and that history factor into your own home's value, Diamond 1st Real Estate is a short drive from the Gap, and Cass is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
