Bake Oven Knob 2 miles North of Germansville, Pennsylvania, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Aug 21, 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 15:45:00 Total observation time: 8.25 hours
Official Counter: Andre Vu
Observers:
Visitors: 2 visitors at the south lookout who I did not interact with. 0 visitors at the north lookout other than a pilot waving at me.
Weather: 68-80 degrees F. Transition from clear skies to about 40% cover - very picturesque cumulus clouds. A steady north wind at 4 mph with gusts to 12 to start the day, and greatly slowed by noon.
Raptor Observations: Bald eagle (2): 0807a, 1409i
Today was my first time counting from the north lookout. I almost slipped on a lichen-y boulder getting there, but as the infamous Morrissey once said, "to die in a rockslide is such a heavenly way to die." Something like that.
I figured the persistent north wind this morning would create updrafts along that slope of the ridge. For the first hour, I feared I had braved the trek for nothing, but my efforts were soon rewarded. Broad-wingeds and osprey began streaming by, incredibly low and close. One adult broadie even swooped right in front of my face before perching on a snag at the center of the lookout, not 10 yards from me. It kept me company for a couple minutes before going down the ridge with the rest of the kettle - not sure if it was a curious local or a tired migrant, but a very cool encounter in any case.
Once the wind died around noon, movement became more sparse and shifted to thermals on the south side of the ridge. To my knowledge, I was still able to fully observe it all from the north lookout - which I may actually prefer. Some sky-high raptors that would have been head-on from the south lookout were instead wing-on to my right, both easing identification and alleviating neck pain.
Non-raptor Observations: I had a singing yellow-billed cuckoo early in the morning. More neotropical migrants would soon join it - a female redstart, along with males of Blackburnian warbler, black-throated green warbler, and scarlet tanager. Swallows, swifts, and a hummingbird came by downridge throughout the day.
Predictions: A slight chance of showers before 3pm, then a chance of showers after 4pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Lehigh Gap Nature Center (<mail...>) Bake Oven Knob information may be found at: www.lgnc.org
