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In this IssueEvents & RemindersAll Summer: Beach stewards are needed at important beach nesting sites. Check out September 29 – October 2: 49th Annual Meeting of the Waterbird Society, Symposia on piping plovers, common terns, and rails. Early registration closes July 14. Visit the Waterbird Society Website for more information. FSA NewsSmall Bird, Big Determination: Happy 15th Birthday, Roo!
Long-term monitoring and knowledge about individual birds’ life history contributes to our understanding of species movement, survival, and productivity. Banding birds with unique color combinations is one way to reliably identify individuals, like “Roo,” a female snowy plover first banded in 2010. On a warm morning in June, researchers banded a 14-day old snowy plover chick with red and orange bands. The chick soon fledged from her natal nest site on St. Joseph State Park and found a new home on Tyndall Air Force Base about 15 miles away. Then, in 2012, a researcher monitoring the area saw her limping badly on her left leg. Once she was in hand, he assessed her injury and determined that she had been attacked by a ghost crab. He removed her USGS band to prevent further injury and set her free. This hardy female became known as “Roo,” a steadfast Tyndall bird recognizable by her bands and her characteristic limp. In the summer of 2016, Roo survived another run-in with a ghost crab, this time sustaining damage to her left foot. But by fall, she appeared mostly healed and unfazed by this setback. During the 2017 breeding season Tyndall Air Force Base was home to 48 breeding snowy plovers. But in 2018, Hurricane Michael made landfall at Tyndall with winds of 161 miles per hour and a storm surge of 14 feet. NOAA called Hurricane Michael “unprecedented”, and “catastrophic”; it was the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Florida Panhandle. Post-hurricane monitoring efforts concluded that only 18 snowy plovers remained on Tyndall – but Roo was among them! Five years passed, and Roo sustained yet another wound from a ghost crab. Researchers captured her and removed her original bands, now faded with time. They knew that Roo’s band combination was important to the many biologists who had monitored her over the years, so they decided that her new bands should reflect her history. Roo was re-banded, retaining her original colors. Roo fledged a single chick during the 2024 breeding season, again unfazed by her injuries. She will be 15 years old this year and she has outlived three of her five previous mates. Roo is a testament to the remarkable resilience of shorebirds and an outstanding example of her species. She has survived at least three ghost crab attacks, a Category 5 hurricane, and 15 years of life. Thank you to the incredible team of FSA partners who have monitored Roo over the years! By documenting movement, survival, and reproductive metrics for uniquely banded birds, like Roo, we gain invaluable information. This information is used to develop management and conservation strategies needed to recover populations shorebirds and seabirds. Roo may be tiny, but the information she provides us is HUGE! All birds are handled for the purpose of scientific research under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey and in accordance with all state permitting requirements. 2023 Shorebird & Seabird Abundance Estimates We are excited to share the 2023 Florida statewide abundance estimates for breeding American oystercatchers, snowy plovers, Wilson's plovers, least terns, and black skimmers! We used data entered into the Florida Shorebird Database by Florida Shorebird Alliance (FSA) partners to estimate the abundance of the three focal shorebird species: American oystercatcher, snowy plover, and Wilson's plover and the two focal seabird species: black skimmer and least tern. Abundance reflects the number of breeding individuals (not pairs) counted along survey routes in Florida. Counts follow the methods in the Breeding Bird Protocol and are reviewed for quality and consistency before analysis. We grouped data in both space and time to account for possible bird movement for each species. Each abundance estimate is presented alongside 95% confidence intervals, which represent variance in the data.
Estimates include rooftop-nesting American oystercatchers, least terns, and black skimmers. In 2023, 43% of least terns nested on rooftops, compared to 1% of black skimmers and 4% of oystercatchers. It is possible to accurately estimate the breeding abundance of the focal shorebird species thanks to the annual comprehensive survey coverage by FSA monitoring partners. Your contributions make this work possible! To learn more about how these estimates are calculated, see the 2021 Monitoring Data at Work Report, the Shorebird Abundance Estimates Webinar, the Seabird Abundance Estimates Webinar, or email FLShorebirdDatabase@ IBNB Survey ExperienceIn 2022, the FWC approved new Guidelines for four species of imperiled beach-nesting birds (IBNB): American oystercatchers, snowy plovers, least terns, black skimmers. The Guidelines took effect on October 1, 2024. Guidelines clarify protections for the species, provide options for avoiding impacts, and provide information on permitting, including minimization and mitigation options, when impacts are unavoidable. FWC is excited to announce that it is hosting several Imperiled Beach-Nesting Bird (IBNB) Survey Experience opportunities this year. IBNB Permitted Monitors are dedicated individuals with proven shorebird and seabird identification skills and avian survey experience. They are qualified to assist FWC Incidental Take Permittees with minimizing and avoiding harm or harassment of imperiled beach-nesting birds during project activities. Space is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority will be given to those who can commit to attending all three days and who need survey experience to become IBNB Permitted Monitors. The IBNB Permitted Monitor application is available: please visit the FWC's IBNB Permitted Monitor website and FWC’s permitting website. St. John’s details:
South Florida Details:
 FSD UpdatesChick Data ReminderShorebird and seabird chicks are hatching all over the state! These chicks are on the move, and we want to know where they are going! How you report chick data in the Florida Shorebird Database (FSD) varies by species. Seabird chicks are not very mobile and are dependent on their parents for food, so young chicks (downy, feathered, and some flight-capable) will remain in or very near their colony. These chicks should be counted as part of their colony using the Seabird Colony Form. Flight-capable seabird chicks will eventually start to venture further and further away from their colony. These chicks should be documented using the Roving Chick/Staging Young Form. Shorebird chicks are very mobile and typically leave their nest shortly after hatching. Any shorebird chick (regardless of age) observed outside of their nest cup should be documented as a roving chick using the Roving Chick/Staging Young Form. Any downy chicks observed inside the nest cup should be documented as nestlings on the Shorebird Nest Form. Check out the FSA’s shorebird and seabird Aging Guides for help identifying chick ages. As always, we are happy to answer any questions about chick observations or other data entry quandaries. Email us at FLShorebirdDatabase@MyFWC.com!  Reporting Banded Birds ReminderIf banded birds are observed on your survey and are associated with known breeding sites (e.g., nest site, roving chick observation), please make sure to record the full band combinations in the Solitary Nest Site Description and Site Visit Notes. These details are critical for verifying renesting and linking chicks to their natal nests. Important: Entering band info in the Florida Shorebird Database (FSD) is not a substitute for reporting bands to the Bird Banding Lab or the appropriate researchers. Make sure band resightings get shared with both!
Ebb tidingsAE & ArchieThe American Oystercatcher pair, AE & Archie, are having another successful nesting season at Ft. De Soto County Park. Two chicks hatched this year bringing their total number of hatched chicks to 8 in the past three years! AE and Archie are great parents that fiercely defend their territory and chicks from any nearby predators like Fish Crow. AE was banded as a chick in May of 2012 on the Georgia coastline before making her way down to the Tampa Bay Region. She is 13 years old and one of the most resighted American Oystercatchers in the United States.  Art by Peyton Kerry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Florida Shorebird Alliance (FSA) is a partnership of agencies, non-government organizations, and individuals committed to shorebird and seabird conservation in Florida. FSA partners coordinate their independent work and collaborate to address research, management, education, outreach, and public policy needs. |
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