History of Hawkwatching in the Florida Keys

The History of Hawkwatching in the Florida Keys

The human fascination with raptors has endured throughout history. In the early 1900’s, American bird-enthusiasts and ornithologists began raptor-monitoring programs in the United States. Though mentioned in Audubon’s journey to Florida in the 1830’s, the migration of raptors through the Keys was largely unstudied until recently.

Photograph © Beth Davidow, 2000

In 1989 Wayne Hoffman and the Florida Audubon Society began an annual weekend count in the Keys. For three years this study was performed on the same dates at many locations throughout the Keys. Hoffman and his volunteers discovered that the more raptors were observed in the Middle Keys than at other locations throughout the chain. Florida Audubon Society counts continue today, located on Boot Key, just outside Marathon, Florida.

The extent of the Audubon counts lead to the first full season raptor count lead by Florida International University graduate student, Cindy Brashear. After the preliminary season in 1995, Brashear moved the observation site from Boot Key to a superior site on Grassy Key for two years of observation between 1996 and 1997.

The Florida Keys Raptor Migration Project was created in 1998 by HawkWatch International to develop a long-term raptor migration monitoring program along this newly documented major migration flyway.