Hawk Mountain is about ten minutes away from my hometown of Hamburg, PA and is a world class sanctuary for hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey.  On autumn weekends if the weather conditions are right, you can see hundreds of hawks and other raptors circling and riding the wind thermals at the intersection of the mountain ridges.  

But there is much much more to Hawk Mountain than birds of prey - it is an amazing landscape of beauty under different light and weather conditions. Interesting rocky outcrops are nestled among hardwood trees right on the edge of the mountain.  I never cease to find something new each time I visit.

The Lookouts

The stars of the show at Hawk Mountain are surely the numerous rocky outcroppings and lookouts. They allow you to rest, relax, and gaze upon the rural countryside. While the rocks remain the same, the outcroppings take on a different personality in different light, different weather, and different seasons. At sunrise and sunset, the people are gone and the light is low... and the lookouts offer a special quiet place to just sit, witness, and exist.

The Surrounding Forest

And while people are initially drawn to the lookouts, there is much to be seen in the forests and paths of the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. Early summer brings small groves of blooming mountain laurel. The right weather brings fog and mist to the mountaintop which creates a prehistoric atmosphere. And the rocks find their way from the lookouts into all areas of the forest - providing a great interplay between trees, light, and rocks.

The Valley Awakens

All of my photography at Hawk Mountain has been focused on features of the mountain - until now. Even a casual viewer of this website will see that I am obsessed with the rocks at the various lookouts. There are images of rocks in the morning, in the evening, in the winter, summer, and fall! Coming in slightly after the rocks is my obsession with the trees and the forest that covers the slopes of the mountain.

But on a recent trip to photograph the sunrise, I did something new - almost as an afterthought.

I photographed the valley floor from the North Lookout - I was captivated by the beautiful directional sunrise light. The mist and light combined to create layers and layers of patterns of light, mist, field, and trees. These have become some of my favorite images of (from) Hawk Mountain. It’s a good lesson that there is always something new to see - you just need to be able to recognize it.

B Reitenauer, October 2020