The entrance sign to Glacier National Park, seen on May 19, 2025. (Micah Drew/Daily Montanan)
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK – Glacier National Park will host volunteer training for its annual Hawk Watch Program on August 26 and September 22. The park outlined the following details in a press release:
The training session on August 26 will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in West Glacier in the Community Building. Trainings will provide an in-depth introduction to raptor ecology, identification, migration and teach volunteers how to conduct migration counts at both the Lake McDonald and Mount Brown Hawk Watch sites in September and October.
Once trained, volunteers can hike to an observation point and count migrating raptors just below Mount Brown Lookout, alongside trained raptor migration counters. This is a hike of about 4.5 miles one-way (about 9 miles roundtrip) with an elevation gain of more than 4,000 feet.
The September 22 training will be an in-the-field training day for volunteers interested in participating in the Lake McDonald Lodge Hawk Watch during the end of September through October. This field training will take place from noon to 4 p.m. in Jammer Joe’s parking lot adjacent to Lake McDonald Lodge.
To join the Hawk Watch Team, participants will learn from park biologists on how to identify and count migrating raptors. Park biologists will answer questions and share information about the integral role of raptors in our ecosystems, risks they face, and why Glacier started the Mount Brown Hawk Watch Program.
Volunteers interested in registering for either or both training days should email the Glacier Citizen Science Office, GLAC_citizen_science@nps.gov, for additional details.
Each year in the fall, golden eagles migrate from northern breeding grounds to warmer climates. One of the most important North American golden eagle migration routes passes directly through Glacier National Park, the park said. Large numbers of other raptors also use this migration corridor during the fall and spring months.
In the mid-1990s, biologists documented nearly 2,000 golden eagles migrating past Mount Brown annually, but recent data indicate significant declines in golden eagle numbers, according to Glacier.
Due to this concern, the park initiated a Raptor Migration Project in 2011 to investigate possible locations for a Hawk Watch site, part of an international effort to track long-term raptor population trends using systematic migrating raptor counts, Glacier said. Observers also record data on sex, age, color morph and behavior of raptors, as well as weather and environmental conditions.
In 2024, observers on Mount Brown counted 1,782 golden eagles, and 2,741 total raptors passing the observation point, according to the raptor migration database.
To see a map of Hawk Watch sites around the world go to www.hawkcount.org.
