At State Line Lookout, This Year's Hawk Count Comes Down to the Late Birds

Through Oct. 22, the volunteers at the State Line Hawk Watch in Alpine had counted 4,035 raptors this fall, over 292.25 hours of observation. The 2025 season finished at 6,513. Most of the 2,478 birds between those two totals belong to three species that have produced some of State Line's biggest single days in late October and November. With volunteers scheduled at the lookout through Sunday, Nov. 15, the 2026 count still depends on what flies over the cliff in the weeks left before that date.

The September birds have already been counted

The broad-winged hawk is the bird people usually mean when they talk about a big day at a hawk watch. Jim Wright, the new coordinator of State Line's volunteer counters, wrote in his Bird Watcher column for The Record that broad-wings typically pass the lookout in large numbers from mid- to late September. He also recalled helping count 1,200 of them in a single hour on Sept. 15, 2022.

That species is also why State Line's yearly totals swing so widely. HawkCount, the database kept by the Hawk Migration Association of North America, shows 10,857 broad-wings at State Line in fall 2023. In fall 2025 the count was 1,681. In both 2022 and 2023, broad-wing flights pushed the season total above 17,000. Every other season since 2019 has come in under 13,000.

This fall's broad-wing flight came in close to last year's. Here is how the species stood on Oct. 22, set against the final 2025 numbers:

Broad-wings and sharp-shins are within 189 and 84 birds of their 2025 totals. Red-tailed hawks, red-shouldered hawks and turkey vultures are a combined 1,905 birds short, which is about three-quarters of the gap. The 2025 season logged 206 more observer hours than 2026 had on Oct. 22, and the remaining days of this year's schedule are where comparable hours would come from.

Where the rest of the season comes from

The Palisades Interstate Park Commission's State Line Hawk Watch page lists migration windows for each species seen from the lookout. The species still to come are the larger birds of late fall:

• Red-tailed hawk: October through November, along with a resident population in the park
• Northern goshawk: October through November
• Bald eagle: a second passage from late October through mid-November, plus some local birds
• Golden eagle: late October through mid-November
• Turkey vulture: mid-October through November, plus local birds
• Rough-legged hawk: November and later, listed as rare

State Line's single-day records show how much the end of the season can carry. The site's highest daily count of red-shouldered hawks is 250, on Nov. 15, 2025, the last day of last year's count. Its highest day for red-tailed hawks was 270, on Nov. 4, 2012. Among the site's biggest turkey vulture days is Oct. 31, 2023, when counters logged 425. The park's species page lists red-shouldered hawk migration as September, mostly mid-month, so last year's late flight ran well past the textbook window. With only 46 red-shouldered hawks so far this fall, a single day like last year's Nov. 15 would add five times the season's count of that species to date.

The vultures have already started. Oct. 18 was the biggest day of October 2026, with 267 raptors, 187 of them turkey vultures. HawkCount's report for that day described a late push of turkey-vulture kettles. Between 10 and 11 a.m., a juvenile light-morph rough-legged hawk also came through, harassed by common ravens. It is the first rough-legged hawk of the season. The count on Oct. 22 was a quieter 44 birds over six hours, including 13 turkey vultures, nine sharp-shinned hawks, seven red-tailed hawks and four red-shouldered hawks.

Golden eagles are the uncommon bird of late fall. HawkCount puts State Line's average at two per season, and its best year was four, in 2013. This year's first passed at 12:40 p.m. on Oct. 12.

Weather sets the schedule

Late-season flights depend heavily on weather. According to the park commission, the heaviest flights generally come on the first or second day after a cold front, when the wind is out of the north. For a resident, the useful step is to check the forecast for a front passing through. The day after it clears is the morning to drive up the Parkway.

Wright's way of telling migrants from local birds is "altitude and attitude." Migrating raptors usually fly fairly high and head south with purpose. That rule matters more in November. Red-tailed hawks, turkey vultures and black vultures all have resident populations in the park, so the bird circling over the parking lot may never leave. Wright also mentioned the local peregrine falcons, which often perch on a nearby cliff and call loudly when a migrating peregrine or red-tail passes.

How the count works for a visitor

The hawk watch was founded in 1997 and is one of about a dozen official hawk watch sites in New Jersey. Wright's column says volunteers staff it on most days from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., weather permitting, through Sunday, Nov. 15. When they are not busy counting, they answer questions and hand out raptor identification sheets. He recommends bringing binoculars, sunscreen and a comfortable portable chair. The park's own page describes the season as running into early November, so on a late-season trip it helps to arrive expecting the count may not be staffed, especially in poor weather.

The lookout has its own unnumbered exit off the northbound Palisades Interstate Parkway, two miles north of Exit 2. Walkers and cyclists can come in on Old Route 9W, a 1.5-mile stretch of concrete highway closed to traffic. Admission is free. Parking is metered year-round, and the lookout is wheelchair-accessible. Wright notes that the cliffside lookout can get breezy.

A few yards from the count sits the State Line Cafe, inside the Lookout Inn, which the Works Progress Administration built in 1937. The café is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. most days of the year. The park's advisory page says the kitchen closes at 4:30 p.m. and the restrooms at 4:55 p.m. It also warns of possible delayed openings or unexpected closures, so the park suggests calling 201-750-0465 before a trip built around lunch.

The park's calendar around the final weeks

The rest of the park's late-fall programming falls inside the same window:

The tavern evenings book through Eventbrite, and the park notes that these programs fill quickly. On its programs page, the park describes its guided hikes as free and open to all, with no registration. Parking fees may apply at the meeting point, and hikes go ahead "drizzle or shine" unless the weather turns extreme. At the Alpine Picnic Area, the grounds stay open year-round, but the park says the restrooms may close in winter.

After Nov. 15, the lookout turns to snow

Once the count ends, the park manages the lookout for winter. It marks five miles of cross-country ski trails, lettered A through F. They are maintained but not groomed, and the park advises waiting for at least four inches of snow. In a significant storm, the lookout and café may close. The park plows the State Line area for skiing once Parkway Police have cleared the Parkway and other critical park roads, which it says typically happens within 24 hours after a storm ends.

The lookout is also the starting point for the Women's Federation Monument hike, the Peanut Leap Cascade Loop and the Giant Stairs. According to the park's advisories page, the Giant Stairs remains closed to all use from Peanut Leap Cascade to Forest View. The park commission's June 4, 2026 public statement says it is assessing hazards and developing recommendations for a safe reopening, and it gives no date. For the rest of the fall, the cliff-top trails, the café and the count are the reasons to make the drive.

Stacy Esser Group follows the Northern Valley closely, from the season's last count days at State Line Lookout to the market in the towns below the cliffs. If you would like a local perspective on Alpine, the team at Stacy Esser Group is glad to talk it through. Schedule a Meeting Today.