BAR HARBOR (AP) — Acadia National Park is beginning its 19th annual Hawk Watch season on top of Cadillac Mountain.

Beginning Monday, park rangers and volunteers will help visitors find and identify falcons, hawks, ospreys, eagles and other birds of prey as they pass by overhead while migrating to destinations to the south. Weather permitting, the rangers and volunteers will be available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday until Oct. 15.

Park officials said data collected on the raptors contribute to a better regional and national understanding about hawk populations.

More than 2,500 of the birds are sighted every fall during Hawk Watch.