Rare Cuban Pewee confirmed in Monroe County’s Dry Tortugas National Park

Birders got a major Monroe County prize at Dry Tortugas National Park’s Garden Key when a Cuban Pewee, classified as a Code 5 rarity for North America, turned up in the middle of spring migration. The bird was backed by an eBird checklist and photo from Tessa Dowell, while eBird’s Florida rare-bird list logged the April 15 record under Jonathan Dowell at Dry Tortugas NP Garden Key.

The American Birding Association later called the Garden Key bird an “excellent find,” underscoring how unusual the species remains in the ABA Area. Cuban Pewee was first recorded there in 1995, then again in 1999, 2001 and 2010. Since those early records, the ABA has tracked about 10 more, most recently in 2023. A previous well-documented Monroe County sighting in May 2022 was described by the ABA as about the sixth record for the region, a reminder that even in bird-rich Monroe County, this Caribbean stray still ranks as a true rarity.

For Monroe County, the significance goes beyond a single checklist. Garden Key is one of the Florida Keys’ best-known migrant hotspots, and spring is when wind, weather and island geography can funnel exhausted birds into the Dry Tortugas. A record like this reinforces the county’s place on the map for birders chasing rare Caribbean vagrants, the kind of find that can pull visitors south and keep the birding economy centered on the Keys’ remote parks, ferries and overnight stays.

Cuban Pewee is a small tyrant flycatcher of open woodlands and scrub, and the field marks matter. eBird says the bird is best separated from Eastern Wood-Pewee and Empidonax flycatchers by a bold white crescent behind the eye. Its call is a sharp “peep-peep-peep,” and its song is a descending whistle, details that help explain why confirmation at Garden Key drew attention far beyond casual birdwatching circles. In Monroe County, a bird this rare is not just a lifer for a few visitors. It is the kind of sighting that keeps the Dry Tortugas central to the Keys’ identity as one of the country’s most important places for migrant birds.