July Wrack Line Newsletter

Bird Stewardship Training: July 19, 7pm EST: Sarasota County. Register online. Events: July 15-23: Latino Conservation Week. Multiple Florida events.  Reminder: July 8 - 14: the July count window for the Breeding Bird Protocol. Whenever possible, weekly surveys are preferred for routes with active nesting; it helps capture information about peak counts.  Fourth of July and All Summer: Beach stewards are needed at important beach nesting sites. Check out the map of local stewardship opportunities and contact us to get involved!   FSA News Easy Ways to Celebrate a Shorebird-friendly Independence Holiday As people head for the coasts for the Independence Day holiday, the FWC is reminding the public to help protect shorebirds and seabirds by giving them space and keeping personal fireworks off the beach.  Shorebirds on Florida’s Atlantic and Gulf coasts are nesting now, with many of them watching over flightless chicks. Threatened species such as the snowy plover, least tern, black skimmer and American oystercatcher are among the shorebirds facing conservation challenges and needing help from people to survive. Loud noises can cause adults to flush off their nests and tiny chicks to become separated from parents, leaving them vulnerable to predators, the elements, and getting stepped on by beachgoers. At the beach or on a waterway, help shorebirds and seabirds be safe by remembering these tips for a shorebird-friendly Independence Day: Leave fireworks to the professionals. Keep personal fireworks off the beach and at home; attend an official event instead. The loud sounds and bright lights of personal fireworks on Florida's beaches and waterways can have catastrophic effects on nesting birds and their chicks, as well as nesting sea turtles. Do the flock walk. Keep at least 300 feet from nesting birds, stay out of posted areas, and walk around flocks of birds. Getting too close to nesting shorebirds, seabirds and wading birds can cause them to flush from their breeding sites, leaving vulnerable eggs and chicks exposed to the elements and predators. Egg temperatures can increase to lethal levels after just a few minutes of direct sun exposure. Shorebirds and seabirds nest in shallow scrapes in the sand and their eggs and chicks are well-camouflaged, making them vulnerable to being stepped on unless people look out for them and walk around flocks of birds. Properly stash all trash. Trash and food scraps attract predators, such as raccoons and crows, that prey on shorebird eggs and chicks. Litter on beaches and in the water can entangle birds, turtles and other wildlife. Beachgoers can help shorebirds and other native wildlife by properly disposing of all trash, filling in man-made holes in the sand, and removing all personal gear from the beach before sunset. Fishing line can be deadly to waterbirds, sea turtles and other wildlife, so be sure to dispose of it properly. To find a monofilament recycling station near you, visit mrrp.myfwc.com. Keep Fido at home. Even well-behaved dogs and responsible people can frighten shorebirds, causing them to abandon their eggs and chicks. Birds see all dogs as predators. If you're visiting a pet-friendly beach, keep your furry friend on a leash.   Look for Critical Wildlife Area (CWA) closures. Be on the lookout for signs designating Critical Wildlife Areas on the beach or coastal islands – these areas are closed to public access to protect high concentrations of wading birds and shorebirds while they nest and raise their chicks. Boaters and beachgoers can help nesting birds by keeping distance and noise volumes low near CWAs. Practice disturbance-free photography. When taking photos, please take great care to avoid disturbing the birds, and their nests and chicks. Florida’s wildlife photographers can be important advocates for shorebirds and seabirds when following guidance in the How to Be a Shorebird-friendly Photographer brochure. Spread the word. Let your friends and family know how important it is to give shorebirds space and share the message on social media! Report disturbance of nesting birds to the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) or by texting Tip@MyFWC.com.  Have a happy Independence Day weekend while sharing the shore!  Photo: Britt Brown Online Training is open to become an Imperiled Beach-nesting Bird (IBNB) Permitted Monitor! IBNB Permitted Monitors are trained, dedicated individuals with proven shorebird and seabird identification skills and avian survey experience. IBNB Permitted Monitors are qualified to assist FWC Incidental Take Permittees with avoiding direct harm and minimizing harassment of state-listed imperiled beach-nesting birds (American oystercatchers, snowy plovers, least terns, black skimmers) during project activities. One requirement for the IBNB Permitted Monitor Permit application is to complete an online training series through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) e-training platform. The IBNB Permitted Monitor training materials are now available at https://learningmyfwc.remote-learner.net/. New users will need to create an account to access the online training. The training is divided into three modules and can be completed over multiple sessions. In addition to the online training, persons seeking to become IBNB Permitted Monitors must demonstrate that they have conducted at least three surveys that involved observation of Active Nests of IBNBs. If you need technical assistance with the online learning platform, please contact eLearning@myfwc.com. Questions related to training material content can be sent to shorebird@myfwc.com. For updates on how to apply for an IBNB Permitted Monitor Permit (applications will be accepted starting in September), please visit myfwc.com/IBNBMonitor. Register today for the 47th Annual Meeting of the Waterbird Society!  The Waterbird Society will hold its 47th Annual Conference from October 9-13, 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Be sure to register today (July 1st) to take advantage of early bird rates!  The conference will be a joint meeting with the Atlantic Marine Bird Cooperative (AMBC) and hosted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The conference will have a mix of regular presentations, lightning talks (5-minute presentations), a poster session, and symposia. The following symposia have been confirmed: Atlantic Marine Bird Cooperative Waterbird Movement Ecology One Water (Intersection of waterbird ecology and conservation) Artificial & human-made habitats that support waterbird nesting & foraging Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Black Skimmer conservation, management, and research For more information about each symposium, please go to the conference website.  There will also be a workshop on the use of UAVs for waterbird research and monitoring and a workshop on the use of R statistical packages for waterbird research. The local organizing committee is working hard to offer more workshops if feasible. Finally, the organizing committee is putting the finishing touches on two field trips, a birding trip to an artificial wetland in the Everglades and an airboat tour of the Everglades ecosystem. Stay tuned for more information, details, and cost for each field trip. There will also be plenty of opportunities and information provided for birding on your own. To register and submit abstracts, please click HERE. Before registering, you will need to create an account.  Deadline for early bird registration: July 1, 2023 Deadline for abstract submission: August 10, 2023 The conference will be held at Gallery One-a Double Tree Suites by Hilton Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. For hotel and travel information, please see the conference website. Deadline for hotel reservations at conference rates: September 8, 2023 FSD Updates Updating Colony Footprints  Colonies are dynamic and may significantly change size and shape or drift from the original location in response to disturbances, birds joining or leaving the colony, and/or nests hatching or failing. Did you know that you can document these changes in the Florida Shorebird Database (FSD)? Each time you enter a site visit for a colony, you have the option to update the colony’s footprint (the physical space a colony occupies; its size, shape, and location). If the colony has changed significantly since the last site visit, you can use this function to update the colony’s footprint to better reflect the colony’s current shape. If the colony has not changed, then there is no need to update!  To update a colony’s footprint, enter your route survey as you normally would. When you add the site visit for a colony with a footprint you would like to update, look for the “Update Colony Footprint” button underneath the map (right side of screen). Clicking on this button will open a popup box that will allow you to enter the updated footprint by either entering GPS coordinates or dropping points on the map.  The original colony footprint will display on the map as a green polygon. The updated footprint will appear as a separate yellow polygon. Once you have added the updated colony footprint, click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the pop-up. You have successfully updated the colony’s footprint! The original footprint will be archived in the FSD and the newly updated footprint will be displayed as the colony’s footprint.  Note that updating colony footprint is for colonies that remain in roughly the same area. If all the birds leave an established colony and move several miles away, then it’s time to create a new colony! The birds abandoned their previous colony in favor of attempting to nest in a new location. Give the previous colony a final outcome and create a new colony where the birds have moved to.   As always, we are happy to answer any questions you might have about updating colony footprints or other data entry quandaries. Email us your questions at FLShorebirdDatabase@myFWC.com!   Ebb Tidings Audubon Florida Coastal Report In case you missed it, the 2022 Audubon Coastal Report is available to read. The annual summary features hurricane impacts, banding brown pelicans, nesting successes and more. The report also highlights the essential bird stewarding effort done by Audubon's incredible network of volunteer stewards. Check out the report here!

The Florida Shorebird Alliance (FSA) is a statewide network of local partnerships committed to advancing shorebird and seabird conservation in Florida.  FSA partners collaborate to identify and address important needs regarding research, management, education, outreach, and public policy.  The FSA accommodates a wide range of views on the best strategies to conserve shorebirds and seabirds.  However, all partners share the same goal of establishing areas where seabird and shorebird populations are viable and managed in balance with human activities.

http://live.oysterradio.com/