There are a few eagles I know of around here, too. A pair on an island in the Delaware River right off Philly, and quite a few down toward, and in Delaware Bay.
North and west of here is Hawk Mountain:
A Bird's Eye View of Hawk Mountain
I used Google Earth to get a feel for what the landscape might look like to a raptor as it migrates south along the Kittatinny Ridge of Pennsylvania on it's 6,000 to 7,000 mile journey to Mexico, Central or South America.
The Kittatinny Ridge (also known as Blue Mountain) is a long mountain ridge that winds 185 miles through eastern and central Pennsylvania, to the Maryland line. The Ridge is a globally-significant fall migration flyway used annually by tens of thousands of raptors and vultures and millions of songbirds, and has been designated by Audubon Pennsylvania, as the largest of the state’s “Important Bird Areas.”
The dashed red lines show the general path I observed the raptors following. This graphic isn't intended to be accurate; I was just fooling around. The altitude setting (991 m) is about three times as high as most raptors were actually flying (my guess) and the terrain relief is exaggerated considerably to enhance the perspective.
by Benjamin Hayes
North Lookout, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
A world-famous location for observing bird migration, this is an almost 180-degree panoramic view east, down the axis of the anticlinal ridge along which tens of thousands of raptors migrate each year on their journey to south for the winter.
Taken around 8:30 am, when the sun broke through the clouds. A cold front had passed through the night before. Winds were from the northwest at around 20 mph, coming off the Great Lakes and carrying with them clouds and snow showers.
