As the world's first refuge for birds of prey, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Kempton, Berks County that started during the Great Depression with an amateur ornithologist by the name of Richard Pough, offers a dramatic and compelling experience for birdwatchers, hikers and nature lovers.

Dr. Keith L. Bildstein, Director of Conservation Science at the Sarkis Acopian Center at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, talks about the history of the Sanctuary and current programs, including its international internship program.

In 1929, the Game Commission placed a $5 price tag on the goshawk's head—a grand sum in Depression years. Two years later, while Pough was a recent college graduate living in Philadelphia, he became one of a growing number of conservationists opposed to the widespread movement to eradicate wildlife predators, including predatory birds.

Pough heard of the place locals called "Hawk Mountain" and decided to visit. There he saw gunners stationed, shooting hundreds of passing hawks for sport. He returned to gather the carcasses lying on the forest floor and take photographs. Pough unsuccessfully tried to stop the shooting himself, but his photographs were eventually seen by a national conservation activist-New Yorker Rosalie Edge.

In 1934, Mrs. Edge came to Hawk Mountain and leased 1,400 acres. She installed a warden on the property, a New England bird enthusiast named Maurice Broun, and Maurice's wife and bird conservation partner, Irma Broun.

The shooting stopped immediately and the next year, Mrs. Edge opened the Sanctuary to the public as a place to see the beautiful, but persecuted birds of prey. She purchased and deeded the 1,400 acres to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association, incorporated in 1938 as a non-profit organization in Pennsylvania.

During the 2006 Fall migration season, more than 25,000 hawks and other birds of prey safely migrated passed Hawk Mountain.

Listen to Lale Aktay, an intern from Turkey who is midway through a four month international internship at the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, as she talks about how her background, her projects at Hawk Mountain and what she plans to do with her experience when she returns to her native Turkey.

The Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Visitors Center offers birdwatchers, students and visitors with an introduction to the history of Hawk Mountain.

The Acopian Center at Hawk Mountain offers unique facilities for visiting professors, the international interns working at the Sanctuary and the public. The main Center building holds the library, research facilities and meeting spaces. Two other buildings house rooming facilities for interns and apartments for visiting professors. The grounds around the Center offer several trails for birdwatching and a wetland for handling stormwater from the facilities.

The South Lookout at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is the first of several lookouts visitors to this unique educational resource come to on the trail going up the mountain. The Lookout is about a 20 minute walk from the Hawk Mountain Visitors Center along a trail that varies from smooth to somewhat rocky.

The North Lookout at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is the largest of the many lookouts for raptor watchers. The Lookout is about a 45 minute walk from the Hawk Mountain Visitors Center along a trail that varies from smooth to rocky.

Visitors come for the Fall and Spring migration seasons and many other times of the year to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary.

Video Blog: Dr. Keith L. Bildstein & Hawk Mountain Video Postings

1/5/2007