On Saturday, October 3, counting at the Militia Hill Hawk Watch ran from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. When it ended, official counter Rich Conroy and observers Jamie Stewart and Steve Grunwald had logged 67 raptors over the deck in Fort Washington State Park. The tally included 22 American kestrels, 17 sharp-shinned hawks, 15 turkey vultures and five bald eagles. The next day, lingering rain kept the count from happening at all.
Sixty-seven birds in eight hours looks thin next to what crossed the same hill two weeks earlier. Last year's count shows that the quiet early-October stretch is a pause. At Militia Hill, the busiest part of October comes in its final two weeks.
What September already delivered
The famous flight has passed. On September 18, 2026, the count logged 4,378 broad-winged hawks, out of 4,442 raptors of all species that day. Another 795 broad-wings came through on September 19. As of October 3, the fall 2026 total stood at 6,632 raptors across 187.5 hours of observation, and 5,841 of them were broad-wings.
The broad-wing number swings more than any other species here. HawkCount's site profile puts the average season at 8,755 broad-wings. The highest season was 37,355 in 2023, with 22,248 on September 20 of that year alone. The lowest was 171 in 2024. HawkCount's timing chart for the site shows nearly all broad-wing movement packed into mid-to-late September and tapering off fast in early October. The 2026 October columns confirm it, with no broad-wings recorded from October 1 through 3.
The species that follow move differently. They come over across many days instead of one big afternoon, and they come later.
Where last October's birds came from
In October 2025, the Militia Hill count logged 2,317 raptors in 182.67 hours of observation. That nearly matches the 2,649 broad-winged hawks counted across all of fall 2025. The October birds came late in the month. October 1 through 17 produced 432 raptors combined. The remaining two weeks produced about 1,885, roughly 81 percent of the month.
Most of that late surge fell on four days:
| Date, 2025 | Total raptors | Turkey vultures | Red-tailed hawks | Red-shouldered hawks | Sharp-shinned hawks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Oct. 18 | 235 | 193 | 8 | 11 | 9 |
| Sunday, Oct. 19 | 304 | 292 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Saturday, Oct. 25 | 221 | 106 | 14 | 13 | 47 |
| Sunday, Oct. 26 | 549 | 407 | 40 | 23 | 30 |
Those four days add up to 1,309 birds, more than half of the October total. All four fell on weekends. The 407 turkey vultures on October 26, 2025 rank as the second-highest single-day vulture count in the site's records, behind 530 on October 29, 2010. Turkey vultures made up 1,695 of the month's 2,317 raptors.
A single year proves little, but the long-run record points the same way. Many of the site's top days for several of these species fall in late October.
The late-season cast
Each of these species has its own reason to cross Militia Hill in late October. The site record makes the case species by species.
- Turkey vultures. The site averages 729 per season, with a high of 2,424 in 2021. Both of their record days come from the last week of October.
- Red-shouldered hawks. The best single day on record was 73, on October 29, 2022. Another top day was 34 on October 27, 2020.
- Red-tailed hawks. The site's timing chart shows red-tail movement building through October and peaking around the last third of the month, with strong numbers into early November. Only two red-tails had been counted this fall as of October 3.
- Sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks. Several of the site's top accipiter days fall in October. The record for sharp-shins is 140 on October 23, 2005, and the record for Cooper's hawks is 23 on October 11, 2003.
The Liberty Bird Alliance points out that Militia Hill stands only 330 feet high and has no large body of water nearby, so it has no geographic feature that funnels migration. All sixteen raptor species that migrate along the East Coast have still been recorded there. HawkCount's site profile puts the long-term average at 10,540 raptors per season.
Where 2026 stands heading into the late weeks
The first three counted days of October 2026 produced 80 raptors. The same three days in 2025 produced 48. Two species tell different stories this season. The fall 2026 bald eagle count is already at 82, against a site average of 85 per season. Sharp-shinned hawks are at 227, against an average of 885. Eagles are close to a normal season with weeks of counting left. Sharp-shins are well short, and their best weeks at this site are still ahead.
None of this predicts what the next three weeks will bring. Raptor flights depend on the weather, and October 4 was rained out entirely. The pattern only says when the odds have tended to be best.
Getting up to the deck, and what's on the October calendar
The Hawk Watch Deck sits at Lot 5, 447 Militia Hill Road. Parking is free, the lower deck is ADA accessible, and the Liberty Bird Alliance says a compiler is always on the hill to answer questions. The state park is open sunrise to sunset all year, and day-use areas open at 8 a.m. Both HawkCount and DCNR list daily counting from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October 31. They disagree on what happens after that. HawkCount runs the season to November 15 with shorter hours, while DCNR's page ends coverage on October 31. The live daily log on HawkCount is the most reliable check before a late-season trip.
Several October dates use the deck or the township's parks:
- Tuesday, Oct. 6, 8 to 11 a.m. A Morris Arboretum birding outing on the Militia Hill Hawk Watch platform, $40 for members and $45 for nonmembers.
- Saturday, Oct. 10, 10 to 10:30 a.m. DCNR's "The Great Flight: World Migratory Bird Day" at the Hawk Watch Deck. Registration is required.
- Monday, Oct. 12, 8 to 10 p.m. A DCNR Saturn-sighting party at Lot 5, the same lot used for the hawk watch, after dark. Registration is required.
- Saturday, Oct. 17, 8:30 to 10 a.m. A Liberty Bird Alliance bird walk at Twining Valley Park. The township's "Treats, Tails & Trails" follows at the same park from 10 a.m. to noon, with a dog costume contest and a new dog parade at 11 a.m.
Event listings can change, so check registration and status before heading out.
The Liberty Bird Alliance also runs a Militia Hill Raptorthon and takes donations for the Militia Hill Hawkwatchers, the volunteers who staff the count. In Fort Washington, Rich's Deli at 430 S. Bethlehem Pike sits beside the Fort Washington train station. Around Ambler reported that owner Rich Rosenau, who took over in 1978, announced on September 25 that he is putting the business up for sale and will keep normal operations until he finds a buyer.
The weekends of October 17 and 18 and October 24 and 25 fall in the same late-month stretch that carried most of last year's October count.
At Matthew Desantis, we love knowing the local rhythms that make Upper Dublin feel like home, from the hawk count on Militia Hill to the deli by the Fort Washington station. If you spot a big kettle from the deck this month, or want to talk about life in Fort Washington and Dresher, Contact Us. We're always glad to hear from neighbors.
