Bedford Audubon Society

Welcome to the Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch!

Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is a rare migrant at
Chestnut Ridge
The Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch Site is located on an easterly facing ridge at The Nature Conservancy’s 350 acre Arthur W. Butler Sanctuary in the Town of Bedford, Westchester County, New York. Located in the southern foothills of the Taconic Mountains and fifteen miles north of Long Island Sound, the view from the Watch Site encompasses the hills of Putnam County, New York, to the north, the Towns of Bedford, Pound Ridge and North Castle to the east, and Greenwich, Connecticut and Long Island Sound to the south. On a clear day, the Villages of Wading River and Shoreham on the north shore of Long Island, can be identified with the aid of binoculars.

The Hawk Watch itself is a bleacher-like structure, which enables the visitor to get better views of migrant birds of prey which pass the watch in a east-west fashion in front of, and over the watch. This is because these migrant birds are following the local ridgelines and the sound shore in our region.

The most favorable weather conditions that are conducive for hawk flights at Chestnut Ridge are autumn days with blue skies, puffy cumulous clouds and northwest winds, that follow a cold front out of the Great Lakes region. If this weather is not occurring during your planned visit however, do not be discouraged! West, northeast, and even south winds can produce a reasonable flight of hawks at Chestnut Ridge.

The best way to experience the fall migration at Chestnut Ridge, is to plan on spending the better part of a day there. Although you may hit it right by stopping in for an hour or two, generally speaking, even on a peak migration day, migrant hawks pass the watch site in pulses. It is typically not a steady stream of raptors all day long. There are lulls and busy periods throughout the day. Use of binoculars and even a spotting scope are encouraged at Chestnut Ridge. Also a bird field guide will be of use as well.

There are 16 species of birds of prey that pass Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch every fall. Many of them originate their migration from their breeding grounds in Quebec, the Canadian Maritimes, and northern New England. However, some of the birds passing the Watch site come from as far away as Alaska and the Northwest.

Once you’ve mastered hawk watching, you’ll undoubtedly be hooked for life. Hawks, eagles and falcons are nothing less then some of nature’s most beautiful and graceful creations.

Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch

The 2002 season at the Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch began on September 2 and continued through late November. This year represents the 20th consecutive season with fulltime, paid coverage since the Watch’s beginnings back in 1983.

Previous Hawk Watch Reports

Click for notes on the 2002 Hawk Watch
Click for the 2001 Report
Click for the 2000 Report

Directions to the Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch

Take I-684 to exit 4 (Bedford-Mt Kisco-Route 172) and turn off the ramp toward Mount Kisco. (Left if coming from the South, right if coming from the North.)

Drive about 100 yards and take first left hand turn on to Chestnut Ridge Road.

Take Chestnut Ridge Road for about 1.5 miles and look for the entrance on the Right, the sign for the Nature Conservancy's Butler Sanctuary and go across the bridge to the parking lot.

The Hawk Watch is up the hill to the left (see sign just inside the fence).