Fall migration has begun. Tens of millions of songbirds, raptors and shorebirds that nested across North America are returning to their wintering grounds in Central and South America. The Southern Appalachians offer many opportunities to witness this southbound odyssey.

One way to get a look at songbird migration is simply to prowl the overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway looking for activity. Migrant songbirds often forage in large mixed flocks that can include several species of warblers like black-throated blue, black-throated green, bay-breasted, magnolia, blackpoll and Tennessee — plus tanagers, grosbeaks and thrushes. A good field guide is highly recommended because fall migrants often include juveniles and adults in confusing fall plumages.

Ridge Junction Overlook at milepost 355 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, next to the entrance to Mt. Mitchell State Park, is a unique spot for watching songbird migration. Bring a lawn chair, get comfy and wait for waves of migrants to come to you. Because of an early spring rockslide along the Parkway between Mt. Mitchell and Asheville, N.C., Ridge Junction is only accessible from the north. Another great place for fall warblers and other songbirds is Jackson Park in Hendersonville, N.C. Mourning and Connecticut warblers are sometimes found here during fall migration.

The broad-winged hawk is the premier diurnal (daytime) migrant across the eastern U.S., with tens of thousands passing through the Southern Appalachians. Broad-winged hawks and other raptors like red-tailed hawks, ospreys and bald eagles use thermals (warm air currents) and updrafts to carry them aloft and aide in their southern passage. The biggest hawk watch in the region is Caesar’s Head State Park in South Carolina. Approximately 12,000 raptors pass through Caesar’s Head annually. Nearly 10,000 of those are generally broad-wings. Mahogany Rock in Alleghany County at milepost 235 on the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mount Pisgah in Buncombe County at milepost 404 also offer excellent viewing for migrating raptors. All three of these sites are manned by volunteers happy to assist interested onlookers.

One doesn’t usually think of the mountains when thinking of yellowlegs, sandpipers, turnstones or plovers, but there are a couple of reliable spots in the mountains for seeing migrant shorebirds. Rankin Bottoms Wildlife Management Area in Cocke County, Tenn. is about the closest thing to a river bottomland swamp one will find in the region. Located where the confluence of the French Broad and Nolichucky rivers create Douglas Lake, it’s the Tennessee Valley Authority, not mother nature, that controls the ebb and flow of water at Rankin Bottoms. TVA’s fall-winter drawdown coincides with tired southbound shorebirds looking for a rest stop to provide some of the best bird watching in the mountains. Greater and lesser yellowlegs, a myriad of different sandpipers, plover, dowitchers and dunlin join gulls, terns, waterfowl, herons and egrets to whet the wet appetite of mountain birders.

The Super Sod, sod farms along Hooper Lane in Henderson County, N.C. often provide good fall shorebirds, especially after autumn rains. Farm owners allow birding along the edges of the fields. Please do not block roadways or walk or drive in the fields.

Autumn is a great time to be outdoors in the mountains and a great time to keep an eye to the skies.