Audubon of Florida News

The eggs and chicks of beach-nesting birds are well-camouflaged with their surroundings. It is essential that beachgoers and boaters respect posted areas; just because you don’t see the birds, doesn’t mean they aren’t there! © RJ Wiley

Audubon of Florida is asking people planning to spend time on Florida’s beaches this July Fourth holiday weekend to be mindful of roped-off areas and warning signs that have been placed along beaches where colonial and solitary nesting birds are raising their young, as well as at offshore heron and egret nesting areas. Of particular concern are fireworks set off near or toward any bird nesting areas. Fireworks frighten the parent birds away from their nests, leaving the eggs or young vulnerable.

When beach-nesting birds are flushed from their nests, chicks and eggs are left on the ground, vulnerable to the relentless Florida sun or predators. © RJ Wiley

Each year along Florida’s coast, state and local officials, along with Audubon volunteers and staff, identify and cordon off beach nesting sites to prevent human disturbance which threaten the nesting success of many species of birds including some of Florida’s rarest and most charismatic species such as American Oystercatchers, Black Skimmers, and Least Terns.  “Chicks on most beaches are still small and vulnerable — they need to be protected constantly by their parents, and disturbance can destroy a colony” said Monique Borboen, Audubon of Florida staff person for Northeast Florida.

On some Florida beaches this weekend, volunteer “bird stewards” from local Audubon chapters will help chaperone beach nesting bird colonies, and educate beachgoers about these amazing Florida residents. Audubon of Florida asks all Floridians to help protect our state’s coastal nesting birds during this crucial chick rearing season by following these simple guidelines this Fourth of July.

• Avoid disturbing group of birds. If birds take flight or appear agitated, you are too close
• Refrain from walking dogs or allowing cats to roam freely on beaches during the nesting season. Dogs and cats are frequent predators of beach-nesting birds.
• Don’t let pets off boats onto posted islands or beaches.
• If you must walk your dog on beaches, always keep them on a leash and away from the birds.
• Do not bury or leave trash, picnic leftovers, and fish scraps on the beach. They attract predators of chicks and eggs, such as fish crows, raccoons, foxes, and laughing gulls.
• Do not shoot fireworks near nesting birds.

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Least Tern © Dave Kandz

By Lorraine Margeson:

The least tern is a species in decline here and throughout the United States, a beautiful beach-nesting shorebird in constant and life-threatening competition for prime spots on Tampa Bay’s white sandy beaches.

In spring and summer the terns compete for their breeding grounds with human beachgoers and often turn to gravel rooftops on industrial buildings and condominiums rather than fight for space on crowded shores.

Numerous volunteers spend the majority of their summers as bird stewards, monitoring posted areas for nesting birds at places such as Shell Key Preserve, Fort De Soto Park, Egmont Key State Park and Honeymoon Island. There also are volunteer “chick checkers” who visit rooftop nesting areas of least terns, black skimmers and American oystercatchers, looking for chicks that fall off their precarious rooftop nests.

This year, under the federal banding permit of doctoral candidate Marianne Korosy and the leadership of project director and Eckerd College professor Beth Forys, chicks that fall from rooftops are being color-banded to see whether they return to the same rooftops to reproduce.

Some of the banded chicks have shown up on Clearwater Beach.

If you see least tern fledglings with yellow, red, green or orange bands on their legs, contact Korosy at mkorosy@gmail.com.

If you see twine and signs denoting posted nesting areas, don’t trespass.

You can view a gallery of least tern photos in conjunction with this article that ran in the Tampa Tribune.

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“Over the past nine years, Florida had taken the lead to invest resources into Everglades restoration while the federal government’s commitment waned. A new day dawned this year when President Obama’s Administration made a clear commitment to restore federal funds to bringing this unique natural treasure back to health. And just in time. As a result of years of human activities to cultivate the land for urban and agricultural purposes the health of the Everglades declined as its size was dramatically reduced and its essential ingredient — water — was diverted to the coasts.”

See the full article at National Parks Traveler.

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“Governor Crist’s decision to sign SB 2080 is disappointing,” said Audubon of Florida deputy director Eric Draper.  “However, his direction to the water management districts to include water permits and environmental permits on governing board agendas preserves hope that the public may still be involved in important water resource decisions.”

“We hope the Legislature reverses this travesty at the earliest opportunity” stated Charles Lee, Audubon’s Director of Advocacy. “The people have now been shut out of the room where the most important decisions about water will be made,” he concluded.

Audubon will call on the Legislature to repeal the offending section of law to preserve public access and public hearings on major water permits.

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Jerry Lorenz when receiving recognition for his work on Everglades restoration.

Jerry Lorenz, Audubon of Florida’s State Research Director at the Tavernier Science Center, was recently appointed to the Graduate Faculty at Florida International University (FIU). We know that Jerry will be an excellent graduate professor and mentor. He will be successful in passing on to the next generation of Florida the importance of conservation and the need to advocate on its behalf. Congratulations Dr. Jerry Lorenz.

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From Kevin Spear at the Orlando Sentinel:

The foul waters of Lake Okeechobee, the failing health of the Everglades and even sick dolphins along the South Florida coast might seem like troubles so distant they could hardly be the Orlando area’s responsibility.

Yet a Florida law — which environmentalists say is being thwarted by state officials — says otherwise, banning a decades-old practice set in motion when a toilet is flushed or a kitchen sink is drained in Central Florida.

Treatment of that watery waste produces sludge, which local sewage utilities at least partly disinfect and dispose of as fertilizer. A lot of that fertilizer winds up on cattle ranches and citrus groves south of Orlando, where rain runoff and flooding can release chemicals that poison the wetlands and waterways from here to Florida Bay.

The Florida Legislature passed a law two years ago that environmental activists took as a victory that calls for an end to spreading of sludge within a vast area that drains into Osceola County’s large lakes and then south to the Kissimmee River, Lake Okeechobee, the Everglades and the coastal estuaries of South Florida.

Continue reading…

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Thousands of truck loads of sewage residuals contaminate the Okeechobee watershed.

Audubon of Florida has released a new report on the release of residual wasterwater and sewage sludge, hightlighting the negative impacts this has on Everglades restoration:

“Audubon is calling on the State of Florida, wastewater utilities, and landowners to end the practice of land disposal of dried sludge from sewage treatment plants (also referred to as wastewater residuals and bio-solids) in the Lake Okeechobee watershed. Nutrients in the lake and its tributaries exceed state and federal standards and pollution from phosphorous has reached a crisis point. As a result, Florida’s largest lake faces ecological collapse. Sludge contributes nearly one-fourth of the phosphorous in the Lake Okeechobee watershed and is the most preventable source or pollution.”

Continue reading Audubon’s report.

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Roseate Spoonbill © Bill Swindaman

June marks the beginning of another season of partnership between the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and Hendry-Glades Audubon , whose experts lead public birding tours at the District-managed Stormwater Treatment Area 5 (STA-5) in Hendry County. Most tours are guided by Audubon’s Margaret England, who recently received the District’s first Ambassador Award to recognize her community service and commitment to assist the District and provide increased access to public lands.

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Click on the image for a larger version of the invitation. For more information on the Hold the Line campaign, visit udbline.com.

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If this doesn’t make you want to go to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, I don’t know what else would. Major kudos to Rod Wiley for his spectacular photography and for allowing Audubon to breathe life into our publications with his work.

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