For uncounted millennia the ridgeline and
small hollows near Waggoners Gap have been an intercontinental way station for red tailed hawks, golden eagles, peregrine falcons, ospreys, bald eagles, and other raptors as they travel from their breeding grounds in Canada to their winter aeries in Central and South America.
Audubon Society of Pennsylvania now owns a small portion of the larger ecosystem that comprises Waggoners Gap. I cannot overstate the importance of the society’s work in furtherance of raptor conservancy.
The hawks, falcons, and eagles seek shelter and sustenance in the trees, glades, and meadows of Blue Mountain. Raptors are top predators. Since threats to the general health and safety of an environment tend to concentrate in the food chain, top predators are often an early warning for serious environmental issues. Several other devoted groups have dedicated their efforts to raptor conservancy. Institutions like Waggoners Gap Hawk Watch, The Nature Conservancy, Blue Mountain Wildlife Conservancy, and Hawk Migration Association of North America are critical in the conservancy effort.
If you are interested in helping these fine people in their noble effort, click the above organization of interest. If the survival of raptors is important to you, join up, contribute your time, make a donation or offer support.
Click here to read an excerpt from Waggoners Gap by Tony Peluso.
CONSERVANCY