HAWKWATCH SEASON IS BACK

Most people come to Curry Hammock for the water and spend the whole day never once looking up. From late summer into November that is a mistake, because one of the best raptor migration counts in North America is happening directly over the parking lot.

What passes over

Peregrine falcons, merlins, sharp-shinned hawks, broad-wings, ospreys, kestrels, harriers. The Keys funnel the entire eastern flyway into a thin strip of land, and Curry Hammock sits right in the throat of it. On a heavy day the sky is not metaphorically full of birds.

How to watch

Counters are on site through the season with scopes and a great deal of patience, and they are generally delighted to tell you what just went by. Bring binoculars if you have them, water if you do not. Mid-morning through early afternoon, once the thermals build, is when the volume picks up.

Fit it around a session

Autumn is the shoulder. The north wind has not filled in properly yet, so the mornings are often light and the afternoons pick up. That is a good excuse to spend an hour at the count before you rig.