FLORIDA SHOREBIRD PRESENTATION

2/23/2009

Janell Brush - Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Life History of Florida Shorebirds

With 217 species worldwide and approximately 50 species that breed in North America, shorebirds make up a small percentage of the world’s more than 8,000 bird species

They can be found all year round on most Florida beaches.

Breeding Season

The Florida breeding season is March - July

14 Species of shorebirds and seabirds nest in Florida

The majority of shorebirds leave Florida to nest in the Arctic, Midwest or the North Atlantic Coast

In Florida, shorebirds and seabirds nest on coastal beaches, barrier islands, spoil islands, causeways, gravel roofs, coral rock islands

Nesting Birds

Colonial Nesting– ‘seabirds’ gulls, skimmers, terns

Enhanced protection and defense against predators

Improved foraging – follow successful hunters to food source

Solitary Nesting – shorebirds (oystercatchers, willets, plovers)

Use camouflage for protection from predators

Food resource remains more constant in area of territory

Colonial Nesting Birds

Nesting ‘Seabird’ Status – 10 Species

Threatened – Least Tern, Roseate Tern

Petitioned for listing – Gull-billed Tern

Species of Special Concern in Fl- Black Skimmer, Sooty Tern, Royal Tern, Caspian Tern, Sandwich Tern, Brown Noddy

Common- Laughing Gull

Colonies on ground or rooftops

Loss of habitat on beach

Many coastal buildings are getting rid of gravel rooftops

Human disturbance on ground

Risk of chicks falling off roof

Least Tern – Only tern that will nest on rooftops in FL

Roofs support 75% of all colonies and 83% of all nests

Black Skimmer – Starting to nest more on rooftops in FL

10% of nests are on roofs

Solitary Nesting Birds

Four shorebird species nest in FL

Snowy Plover (threatened), American Oystercatcher (threatened), Willet (common), Wilson’s Plover (species of special concern)

Advantages of solitary nesting

Use of camouflage for predator protection (instead of colony)

Food resource remains more constant

Snowy Plover Nest Monitoring

USFWS census and WEC Master’s student Raya Pruner

Information about population, nest success, nesting distribution and relative survival

Occur on mainly the Gulf Coast

American Oystercatcher Nest Monitoring

Determine nest success, relative survival and distribution of Florida birds

Provide information to managers

Occur throughout coastal Florida

Wintering Shorebirds

About 20 species of shorebirds winter in Florida annually

Most of the species are species that are in trouble

Piping Plover – Federally Endangered

Only 54% of them have been found on the wintering grounds

Many groups conducting research/monitoring

Report banded birds at

American Oystercatcher – Threatened in Florida

Recent evidence of population declines, particularly in the Southeastern U.S., has prompted research aimed at understanding the bird's biology and conservation needs.

Large winter roosts (>2,000)

Gulf Coast Barge Canal to Horseshoe Beach and Jacksonville

The majority of birds are not part of the Florida breeding population

Large group of researchers throughout its range

Report bands at s/AMOY/Research.htm

In recent years, coordinated, widespread banding and re-sighting efforts along the Atlantic coast have revealed connections between breeding and wintering sites and a glimpse into the complexity of patterns of movement and dispersal.

Migrating Birds

More than 30 species of shorebirds and seabirds migrate through Florida

Energetically costly to migrate long distances

Need ‘re-fueling’ stopover habitats consistent from year to year to gain weight in a short amount of time

Alterations to food resources can have devastating effects on the birds

Timing of migration related to prey availability. Classic example is the spawning events of horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds in Delaware Bay

Red Knot – Species of Special Concern in Florida – Petitioned for federal listing

Largest calidrine sandpiper in N. America (robin-sized). They can live years. Dietary generalist – mollusks, amphipods, horseshoe crab eggs, insects

Heavily relies on Horseshoe crab eggs in Delaware Bay

Unknown where the FL wintering population nests – Alaska?

Historically the most common shorebird – today 20,000

Winter largely along Gulf Coast, concentrations in SW and Panhandle, migrate through Duval County

Although still rufa subspecies, some population genetic and morphological differences from S. American birds

Research to document movement and survival, report bands to

Threats

Altricial hatchling- (passerines) EX. Robin, Blue Jay, Sparrow. Helpless at hatching. An altricial hatchling is naked or sparsely downy, unable to leave the nest, and its eyes are closed

Semi-precocial hatchling - (seabirds, oystercatchers) Describes young that have characteristics of precocial young at hatch (open eyes, down, capacity to leave the nest) but that remain at the nest and are cared for by parents until close to adult size.

Precocial hatchling - (shorebirds) Capable of a high degree of independent activity from birth. A precocial hatchling has heavy down, is quickly mobile, and often requires little direct parental care.

Human related disturbance

Disturbance - Activities that “upset” birds by causing them to fly, run walk away, or vocalize.

Managers try to decrease disturbance by posting nesting areas

Enforce leash laws

Increase in mammalian predators

Habitat alteration – nourishment and raking

Increasing pressures in the Arctic

Climate Change

The population of the Florida coastal counties is predicted to double from 12.3 million to more than 26 million by 2060

About 59% of Florida beaches are already experiencing erosion. Some of this erosion is the result of natural forces; however the majority of the impact is a consequence of human activities.

This situation will be exacerbated in the near future by the effects of climate change.

Climate change can be expected to result in sea level rise, increasing storms, and changes to the pattern of ocean currents. These changes will require an increase in management of coastal systems in the form of habitat modifications including raking, nourishment, armoring, and dredge-spoil deposition, and these modifications have the potential to impact shorebird and seabird communities.

Much uncertainty exists about the long and short-term ecological impacts of these types of management activities

Arctic Tundra

The only major environment whose range is completely unable to shift northward in response to global warming

Optimistic models predict that tundra habitat will be cut in half by the end of the twenty-first century due to northward shift of boreal forest

Sea-level rise will affect shoreline habitats in the Arctic and farther south

More frequent severe storms and flooding may heavily impact birds breeding in coastal lowlands such as coastal tundra, salt marshes, and beaches

Timing of bug hatchings is not as predictable– no food for young

Conservation and Management

Complicated due to the large variety of habitats used

Require a series of interconnected areas of suitable habitat to successfully complete their annual movements

Many variables have to be right in order to be suitable for shorebirds at a given time

Communication by managers and researchers throughout range of the species

US Shorebird Conservation Plan

In 2000, partners from state and federal agencies pooled their resources to develop a plan for migrating shorebirds and their habitats

Goal is to ensure that adequate quantity and quality of shorebird habitat is maintained at the local level and to maintain or restore shorebird populations at the continental and hemispheric levels

Outreach, education, research, monitoring, and habitat conservation programs are being implemented,

Accomplishment of conservation objectives for all shorebird species will require a coordinated effort among traditional and new partners

Research and Monitoring

FWC Shorebird Monitoring Website