Abstract
The narrowing of the Florida Peninsula into the Florida Keys concentrates large flights of migrating raptors en route to southern wintering grounds each fall. Between 1999 and 2004, HawkWatch International (HWI) conducted standardized daily counts of migrant raptors from 15 September to 13 November at Curry Hammock State Park in the middle Keys. Average annual counts for the eight most common species were: Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus; 3893); Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus; 3300); American Kestrel (Falco sparverius; 2800); Peregrine Falcon (F. peregrinus; 1908); Osprey (Pandion haliaetus; 1171); Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus; 568); Merlin (F. columbarius; 554); and Cooper's Hawk (A. cooperii; 545). Counts were comparable to or greater than totals from each of nine sites representative of the major raptor migration corridors within the Nearctic-Neotropical migration system. Given the unique geographic position of the Florida Keys in the southeastern U.S. where no other major concentrations of migratory raptors occur, long-term counts at Curry Hammock will be important for monitoring North American raptor population trends. Counts of migrating Peregrine Falcons at this site may be of particular importance, because more costly monitoring efforts at breeding sites will decrease over time now that peregrines are no longer listed as an Endangered Species.
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