From Audubon Florida
Audubon Florida has released its 2022 Coastal Report. The two late-season hurricanes did not affect breeding as they occurred after the breeding season was complete, though their impacts on both coasts were extreme. Along with an overview of the nesting season, the Report highlights an important conservation program in the Tampa Bay region and 10+ years of the Florida Shorebird Alliance.
The Report documents the number of seabirds, shorebirds, and wading bird chicks fledged at sites where Audubon staff work in four regions: Northwest Florida, Northeast Florida, Tampa Bay, and Southwest Florida. Audubon’s Coastal team works with partners and volunteers to monitor and protect nests every spring and summer. In the Tampa Bay region, staff monitored 35 active rooftop nesting sites. For the first time since 2019, Least Terns fledged chicks at Big Marco Pass in Southwest Florida – 19 of the region’s 185 Least Tern chicks, to be exact. Audubon has an eye on how storm damage could impact the upcoming 2023 season: in Northeast Florida, worsening erosion caused small islands in Nassau Sound to drop below high tide, and they will likely not build back quickly enough to host nests this year.
Also included in the report is an overview of the Brown Pelican banding project underway in the Tampa Bay region. Brown Pelicans are learning to find fish in the same places that anglers do, and they often find themselves tangled in fishing lines, causing severe injury and sometimes death. By banding the pelicans they rescue from entanglement, scientists can tell if the same birds are being entangled multiple times and how they behave after rescue. The banding project is also creating data that Audubon’s Policy team can use to advocate for changes to the Skyway Fishing Pier regulations. Audubon supporters also play a role in this: 778 members signed a petition supporting regulatory changes.
Audubon Florida’s Coastal team comprises regional shorebird program managers and staff, seasonal stewards, and a wide network of volunteers.
Audubon Florida protects birds and the places they need today and tomorrow. Audubon works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1900, Audubon believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Learn more at fl.audubon.org.
