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Posted by Rafael A. Galvez on 11:52:16 09/16/10
The Curry Hammock Hawkwatch officially started Wednesday September 15.
Cloudy conditions, with insterspersed periods of rain and constant winds from the east marked this first day.
Few migrants were observed on 9/15; nonetheless, the following "raptor" species were tallied:
Osprey - 19
Northern Harrier - 1
Merlin - 3
Peregrine Falcon - 2
Swallow-tailed Kite -1
Counters: Ernesto Ruelas, Jim Eager.
VOLUNTEERS FOR THIS IMPORTANT HAWKWATCH ARE STILL NEEDED!
No expert raptor ID skills are required. A training session will be provided to go over raptor identification and proper count protocol techniques. Success of this project will depend on sustainable involvement and support from the local community.
The Curry Hammock State Park hawkwatch is an important site because the narrowing of the Florida Peninsula into the Keys concentrates large flights of migrating raptors en-route to southern wintering grounds. Fall counts at this site record flights of over a dozen migrating raptor species; counts of Peregrines are the highest in the country and second highest in the world.
Counters willing to volunteer their effort are still needed for a number of dates during September and October.
Please contact Julie Tilden - www.tilden@hmana.org. - or Rafael Galvez - TASpublisher@gmail.com.
To learn more about HMANA s raptor monitoring efforts, please visit www.hmana.org, www.rpi-project.org.
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