Cooper's Hawk taken at Green Cay by Bill Kominsky. Today I read a great article from Birder's World about Hawk Migration over the Keys. I had heard last year that the Curry Hammock Hawk Watch was cancelled due to lack of funds and staff. This year I really want to get down there for a weekend of raptor gazing. The raptor migration season is best from mid-September to November. HawkWatch International has some nice data and an analysis of the last 10 years of research done on Keys raptor migration.
One of the things I found most interesting in the conclusions, or I should say questions rather ,on accipiter migration. I thought it was really unusual how Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper's would avoid over-water migration routes up north, like at Cape May Hawk Watch, but then fly right off the Keys into the unknown of the Gulf. I think there is a lot more about migration that we just haven't uncovered yet. I have been wanting to see this migration spectacle since I first heard about it a few years ago and since Birder's World was so kind to open this article to the public, it has lit the fire even more.
1 comment:
Birds are some amazing creatures, especially with the distances they fly.
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