For the fifth straight year, participants in the Florida Keys Hawkwatch, sponsored by Leica Sport Optics, broke their own world record for numbers of peregrine falcons seen in a single season. They also broke the record for largest single day count seen anywhere in the world!
The Florda Keys Hawkwatch fall migration count was conducted at Curry Hammock State Park just northeast of Marathon Key. By Oct. 16, 2015 the total Peregrine Falcon tally had reached 4,559, surpassing the previous year's record count of 4,215.
On Oct. 10, 2015, following days of storms across the southeastern US, watchers spotted 1,505 peregrines - 250% more than any other single-day count ever recorded anywhere in the world! This perfect-storm scenario led to a natural phenomenon that would be near impossible to recreate and could never be predicted.
The previous highest single-day count for this species occurred at the Florida Keys Hawkwatch on Oct. 10, 2012 with a total of 651.
"The remarkable concentrations of Peregrine Falcons that move through the Florida Keys is a spectacle to behold," Jeff Bouton, with Leica Sport Optics, said. "As the fastest bird in the world, they are always awe inspiring to watch in flight, however the continually increasing numbers is also a testament to remarkable conservation efforts taken in the 1980's after the species reached dangerously low numbers. It is satisfying to know these successful efforts will ensure future generations will be able to enjoy the amazing flights of this noble bird, the "Bird of Kings" in medieval falconry, as they stream through the Keys each September and October."
Hawkwatches are baseline counts where individuals set up at a set point daily to count the number of hawks, eagles, falcons, and other bird species that migrate past in a single season. It is one of the most optically demanding types of birding requiring observers to scan bright skies for distant soaring raptors.
Complete breakdown and summary of this incredible day can be found on Leica Birding Blog here:
http://blog.leica-birding.com/magic-over-the-islands/
and Florida Keys Hawkwatch here: https://floridakeyshawkwatch.wordpress.com/2015/10/11/1506-peregrine-falcons-in-1-day-count-new-world-record/
