Field Notes
What's new with FSA- news and announcements are posted below. If you would like to make an announcement, post some news, or add an important date to the calendar, please contact us, email: calendar@flshorebirdalliance.org .
JULY 2010
Rehabilitated Birds- Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center requests reports of banded birds associated with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, learn more, go here .
JUNE 2010
Map Update- 2010 FWC Beach-nesting Bird Database
Species maps using FWC's Beach-nesting Bird database will be updated every two weeks, view the Google maps- go here .
Map Update- 2010 FWC Beach-nesting Bird Database
Species maps using FWC's Beach-nesting Bird database will be updated every two weeks, view the Google maps- go here .
MAY 2010
Map Update- 2010 FWC Beach-nesting Bird Database
Species maps using FWC's Beach-nesting Bird database will be updated every two weeks, view the Google maps- go here .
New maps available- 2010 FWC Beach-nesting Bird Database
In response to the Deep Horizon Oil Spill, we are urging partners to survey all historic shorebird and seabird sites, and get this data entered into FWC's Beach-nesting Bird Database as soon as possible. We are working closely with the oil spill Incident Command Center (ICC) to ensure they have the most current information regarding our must sensitive coastal wildlife resources- including active nests and colonies of shorebirds and seabirds.
To help identify gaps in the database, we have created a series of Google maps that can be accessed from the maps section of the Florida Shorebird Alliance website, go here .
APRIL 2010
April 23-25 , FOS Meeting
April 16-May 2 , 2010 Snowy Plover Survey
MARCH 2010
2010 Florida Snowy Plover Survey- April 16-May 2, 2010
The purpose of this annual survey is to develop a long-term dataset on the total population of Snowy Plovers in Florida in order to determine population trends and changes in distribution. The survey began in 2008 so this will be our 3rd count.
Since Snowy Plovers only breed along the Gulf Coast in Florida, surveys are restricted to sections of the Panhandle and the Southwest. Most routes for this survey have been selected, and we now need folks who can ID Snowy Plovers and Wilson's Plovers to help us complete the routes during the two week survey period.
If you are interested, learn how you can get involved, go here .
Spring Meeting of the Florida Ornithological Society (FOS)- April 23-25, Vero Beach
FOS meetings provide a chance to interact with Florida’s most dedicated amateur and professional birders as well as visit some of the State’s interesting birding sites. There will be additional scientific presentations on Saturday as well as the ever-popular Friday night flocking where FOS members share photos of rare birds as well as recent travels to distant lands. The meeting also includes a special banquet presentation on the Everglades by Sonny Bass.
Find more detailed information and registration instructions, visit the FOS website .
March 18, 2010 Bahamas Piping Plover spotted in Florida on March 12, 2010
A Piping Plover that was recently banded (2/17/10) in the Bahamas was found less than a month later at Little Talbot State Park in Duval County by Doris and Pat Leary. The bird was banded at South Blanket Sound Flats on North Andros Island which is roughly 440 miles from Little Talbot.
Piping Plovers primarily winter along coasts in the Southeastern United States and the Bahamas, and this bird was found with a flock that is steadily migrating north to breeding grounds in the Midwest or along the Atlantic Coast (Nova Scotia to North Carolina).
See previous post (2/24) to learn more about the banding project.
FEBRUARY 2010
February 28, 2010 Flight of the Kuaka
An international team of shorebird scientists has determined the migratory pathway of Alaska's population of Bar-tailed Godwits using satellite transmitters.
The journey covers approximately 7,250 miles and is the longest nonstop migratory flight documented for any bird.
See the full story at Cornell's All About Birds website, go here .
February 24, 2010 Piping Plovers banded in the Bahamas
In an effort to determine where Piping Plovers wintering in The Bahamas are staging during migration, and breeding, 57 birds were uniquely color-marked this winter in The Bahamas for Environment Canada by Sidney Maddock and Peter Doherty, with help from The Bahamas National Trust.
Each bird has a black flag (band with a tab sticking out slightly) on the upper left leg, nothing on the upper right, a single color band on one lower leg, and two color bands (which can be the same color on top of each other) on the other lower leg. Colors used included: red, orange, yellow, white, light green, dark green, dark blue, and black.
Carefully note the color and location of each band on the bird, location and behaviour of the bird (on nest or brood, foraging at migratory stop-over, etc.), and the sex of the bird if possible. For additional tips on resighting banded birds, go here .
Please report all sightings to the following emails: Cheri Gratto-Trevor (cheri.gratto-trevor@ec.gc.ca ) and piping.plover@usace.army.mil .
CCB reports on Red Knots
The Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) released two interesting reports on Red Knots late in 2009. The first report discusses the conservation conflict between Peregrine Falcons vs. Red Knots (go here ), and second report presents new findings from band resighting about migration patterns along the mid-Atlantic Coast (go here ).
February 19 , Community Meeting on Gasparilla Island
Lee County Shorebird Partnership established
The Florida Shorebird Alliance is extremely excited to welcome a new partnership, Lee County Shorebird Partnership, to the network. Learn more about the partnership, go here .
February 5-7 , Winter Shorebird Survey
JANUARY 2010
Community Meeting on Gasparilla Island, 2-5PM on February 19, 2010
We strongly encourage everyone from Gasparilla Island to participate in a community meeting that will cover important issues related to beach-nesting birds and sea turtles, and what you can do to assist with local conservation efforts.
Meeting will be held at the Boca Grande Community Center (131 First St.). For more information call (941) 964-0097.
DECEMBER 2009
Upcoming Winter Shorebird Survey- February 5-7, 2010
The primary objective of this survey is to develop an understanding
of the winter distribution of waterbirds in Florida. Initially, this survey only included the northeast portion of Florida and functioned as an extension of the statewide count for Georgia. Last year, the scope of the survey expanded
to the rest of Florida. This year, we are continuing our efforts to make this a comprehensive survey for Florida, and invite anyone interested in participating.
Conducted annually, this survey will enable us to recognize long-term trends or
changes in winter pop-ulation sizes and distribution, and identify key wintering
sites- information that is much needed to guide future conservation efforts.
Please join us! Learn how you can do a survey and contribute observations, go here .
december 28, 2009 History of banded Caspian Tern in Duval County determined
On December 8, a banded Caspian Tern was observed on Bird Island in Duval County by Doris and Pat Leary. While Caspian Terns breed at a few locations in Florida, there have been no banding efforts in Florida for this species so this individual was definitely from somewhere else. Doris and Pat received confirmation of this from the Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL). This tern was banded as a chick on June 17, 2009 on Little Galloo Island in Lake Ontario- 10 miles west of Henderson Harbor, New York.
Please report your observations of banded birds. These observations are extremely important as researchers try to piece together the movement and distribution of our shorebirds and seabirds. For Snowy Plovers in the Southeastern U.S., please report bands here . Others species of shorebirds can be reported to bandedbirds.org .
december 15, 2009 Ancient Murrelet found in Volusia County- first record for Florida and the Southeastern U.S.
An Ancient Murrelet was found stranded at the Ponce Inlet boat ramp by two Ponce Inlet firemen on December 15, 2009. The bird was immediately taken to the Marine Science Center Bird Rehabilitation Center. Unfortunately, the bird was extremely underweight and died later that night.
Ancient Murrelets (Synthiliboramphus antiquus ) are members of the Family Alcidae (Puffins, Auks, Auklets, and Murres)- a group of oceanic seabirds that very rarely gets to Florida. Ancient Murrelet breed and winter along rugged coastlines in the North Pacific. However, there are sporadic records throughout North America for this species.
Other Alcids that have occurred in Florida include: Dovekie (Alle alle ), Thick-billed Murre (Uria lomvia ), Razorbill (Alca torda ), Long-billed Murrelet (Brachyramphus perdix ), and Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica ).
NOVEMBER 2009
OCTOBER 2009
October 15 , Deadline for FWC BNB Database
October 13 , Florida Panhandle Shorebird Working Group (FPSWG) Meeting
October 2-4 , FOS Meeting
SEPTEMBER 2009
Fall Meeting of the Florida Panhandle Shorebird Working Group (FPSWG)- October 13, Panama City
The next FPSWG meeting is scheduled for October 13th, 2009. If you are interested in attending, please contact the NW Regional WLI biologist, Shea Armstrong, at Shea.Armstrong@MyFWC.com for more details.
September 9 , Deadline for comments on FWC's draft rules for imperiled species
Please report your observations of banded Least Terns
Nearly 200 juvenile Least Terns from rooftop-colonies in Pinellas County were banded for a study looking at several aspects of the species' life history.
All banded juveniles have a yellow band on one leg or the other. The majority of the birds also have either a red, green, or orange color band beneath the yellow band. The yellow color signifies the bird was banded as a chick in 2009. The other color, when present, signifies the building from which the bird fledged.
The fledglings began their southward migration in late July though birds may still be around, to see an example of a banded fledgling, click here .
Please email your reports to Marianne Korosy (mkorosy@gmail.com ).
Report banded Snowy Plovers to the FSA website
Several research projects along the Gulf Coast of Florida have banded adult and juvenile Snowy Plovers (Click here to see an example of a banded individual).
Please help us track these banded birds by contributing your observations using the online form located in the resource section of the FSA website (go here ). Each observation is very important since it provides a new time and location for a specific individual which is valuable data as researchers try to learn more about the movements, habitat requirements, and survival rates of Snowy Plovers in Florida.
Please report observations of marked Magnificent Frigatebirds
Magnificent frigatebirds (Fregata magnificens ) from Barbuda in the Lesser Antilles have been marked with yellow wing tags, one on each wing, and black numbering using a number-number-letter combination. Marked birds have turned up in Venezuela and French Guyana- so these birds could turn up anywhere.
If you see a frigatebird with wing tags, please contact s.trefry@unb.ca . Collect the following if possible: 1) the tag como, 2) note whether it is a male or female, and 3) take a photo.
AUGUST 2009
Public comment period for FWC's draft rules on Imperiled Species- ends Sept. 9, 2009
FWC welcomes public input and comment on the draft rules for imperiled species. Staff will present an update to the Commission in September about progress made in developing the rules. The current draft will be revised based on stakeholder and public input and may be presented to the Commission in December. Adoption of the rules will occur at a later meeting.
To check out the draft rules, and learn how to submit comments, visit FWC-Florida's Imperiled Species .
Fall Meeting of the Florida Ornithological Society (FOS)- October 2-4, Gainesville
FOS meetings provide a chance to interact with Florida’s most dedicated amateur and professional birders as well as visit some of the State’s interesting birding sites. There will be additional scientific presentations on Saturday as well as the ever-popular Friday night flocking where FOS members share photos of rare birds as well as recent travels to distant lands. The meeting also includes a special banquet presentation on the conservation legacy of Archie Carr provided by Dr. Frederick "Fritz" R. Davis (Florida State University).
Find more detailed information and registration instructions, visit the FOS website .
Deadline for data entry into the Florida Beach-nesting Birds Website- October 15, 2009
For partners contributing data to FWC's Beach-nesting Birds Website , the 2009 nesting season is winding down which means its time to make sure all your data on beach-nesting birds has been entered into the online database. Please get your data entered into the database by October 15, 2009 .
If you have forgotten your username or password, contact Chris Burney, FWC's Shorebird Partnership Coordinator by email: chris.burney@myfwc.com .
August 17, 2009 New website for reporting observations of banded Red Knots
Florida is one of three important wintering areas for Red Knots along the Western Atlantic Flyway of the Americas and apparently the one, we know the least about.
A team of biologists from around the world working with FWC has surveyed and banded red knots throughout southwest Florida over the last three years. Over 700 birds have been banded with light green flags with unique alpha-numeric IDs that can be spotted at a distance with a spotting scope (See below).
The Florida project is part of a much larger effort aimed at developing reliable estimates of the flyway-wide population of Red Knots, understanding their migration patterns, and determining their current status. You can help by submitting your observations of banded Red Knots to bandedbirds.org .
August 17, 2009 Two shorebirds, Greater Sand-Plover and Common Greenshank, added to Florida's Official State List
The Greater Sand-Plover, an Asian species that was recently seen for the first time in Florida and only the second time in the Western Hemisphere has recently been added to Florida's official state list of birds by the Florida Ornithological Society Records Committee (FOSRC).
The bird was found at Huguenot Memorial State Park on May 14, 2009, and remained there until May 26th. During the bird's brief stay, hundreds of birders from all over the United States descended on the park to get a look at the bird.
Another shorbird from the opposite side of the world, Common Greenshank, was added to the list as well. The record for Florida was based on a museum specimen from May 23, 1882 of a bird found in the Tampa area. See the rest of Florida's official state list and learn more about the Florida Ornithological Society (FOS) and the Records Committee by visiting their website, click here .
