February Wrack Line - Newsletter of the Florida Shorebird Alliance February 2025

Newsletter of the Florida Shorebird Alliance February 2025 Photo by Britt Brown Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

In This Issue Events Reminders FSA News FSD Updates Ebb Tidings Events February 7-13: Florida Winter Shorebird Survey February 8: MarineQuest in St. Petersburg February 28, 9-11 am: Introduction to Shorebirds/Seabirds at the Brevard Zoo. Learn more and register by clicking here. Pre-season Partnership Meetings February 26: Nature Coast. Email Blair Hayman (Rebecca.Hayman@MyFWC.com). February 26: Volusia. Email Jennifer Winters (JWinters@volusia.org). March 3: Charlotte-Lee-Collier. Email Megan Hatten (megan.hatten@audubon.org). March 6: Timucuan. Email Hailey Dedmon (Hailey.Dedmon@MyFWC.com). March 6: Suncoast. Email Beth Forys (forysea@eckerd.edu).  March 6: Panhandle. Email Raya Pruner (Raya.Pruner@MyFWC.com). March 10: St. Johns/Flagler. Email Hailey Dedmon (Hailey.Dedmon@MyFWC.com). March 11: Space Coast. Email Hailey Dedmon (Hailey.Dedmon@MyFWC.com). March 11: Southeast. Email Natasha Warraich (twarraic@sfwmd.gov). March 13: Treasure Coast. Email Niki Desjardin (niki@ecological-associates.com). Reminders March 1: The Florida Shorebird Database (FSD) opens for the 2025 breeding season FSA News The Florida Winter Shorebird Survey: A history of successful collaboration The annual winter shorebird survey is about to begin and we sat down with Billy Brooks (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) to learn more about the origins and evolution of the survey.  The winter shorebird survey started with the Piping Plover International Survey, which occurred every five years. Billy became Florida’s point of contact for the survey in 2001 and in 2006 the objective of the survey in Florida was to document all piping plovers, red knots, and snowy plovers. As participation in the survey started to grow, Billy and colleagues in Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) realized they had an opportunity: with their constituency of birders and enthusiasm for the 5-year survey, they could organize an annual single-day survey in late January or early February. This single-day survey would reduce double counting birds that were moving around. They wanted to give it a catchy name that partners would remember, like Audubon’s “Christmas Bird Count,” so they decided to call it the “First Friday in February Survey.” In 2008, Billy coordinated with Georgia DNR and local Audubon chapters to conduct the first single-day winter survey that included Georgia south to Cape Canaveral. The survey was focused on piping plovers and red knots, but partners also documented other species that were using coastal habitats. These observations started to shed light on the importance of Florida for wintering shorebirds and seabirds. Monitors collected location, counts and banded bird information on hard-copy data sheets that were sent to Billy. In 2009, with the formalization of the Florida Shorebird Alliance (FSA) and the accompanying increase of conservation partners and improved communication network, other areas in the state became interested in participating in the coordinated annual winter survey. In 2009, FSA partners helped to coordinate and conduct the first statewide “First Friday in February” survey. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 highlighted the importance of having shorebird and seabird reference data in a repository that could be accessed electronically to evaluate impacts from catastrophic events. In 2013, Dr. Beth Forys, a professor at Eckerd College and long-time shorebird conservation partner, developed a digital system for signing up for survey routes, entering data and storing data for easy access. Beth’s involvement really catapulted Florida’s capacity for organizing partners to cover large portions of the state. At the same time, the survey duration was expanded to a weeklong survey and was renamed the "Winter Shorebird Survey." The digital system and the longer survey window propelled participation - the survey was now flexible enough to accommodate partners' busy schedules, tides, and inclement weather - and resulted in increased survey coverage and data reporting. A standardized monitoring protocol was developed in 2014 and is still used today. The protocol defines focal species and provides additional survey flexibility (focal species only vs. all species). The data collected from the initial International Piping Plover Survey and now the Winter Shorebird Survey helped inform the Piping Plover and Red Knot Critical Habitat Designations and the Federal listing of Threatened for the Red Knot. The data are also used to track habitat use of state- and federally-listed species during the nonbreeding season. The Winter Shorebird Survey is a testament to coordinated conservation and dedication during the nonbreeding season. Florida’s conservation community has grown dramatically since that first statewide survey, and we continue to coordinate participation and route coverage each February. In 2013, there were 125 routes and 82 participants; in 2023, the survey had grown to 282 routes with 240 participants! We look forward to another Winter Shorebird Survey from February 7-13. If you have not signed up yet, visit the webpage for more information and contact an organizer to get involved in your area. Happy counting! Photo by Britt Brown Partner Spotlight: Dr. Beth Forys Dr. Beth Forys was involved in the creation of the Suncoast Shorebird Partnership in 2004 - before there was a Florida Shorebird Alliance (FSA). Her BA and MS are from the University of Virginia where she studied rice rats, and she received her PhD from the University of Florida. Her dissertation was a population viability analysis for the Lower Keys marsh rabbit. After graduating she went back to the Florida Keys to work for the FWC as an endangered species biologist researching the rabbits and other listed species. When that position ended she became a professor at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg where she teaches conservation biology, GIS and ornithology. An invitation by Bruce Ackerman (Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission) and President of St. Petersburg Audubon in 2000 to make a GIS map of rooftop nesting least terns in Pinellas County got her started with seabirds and after seeing the challenges these birds faced and the amazing Audubon volunteers and partners who were involved, she never turned back. Beth has been one of the co-leaders of the Suncoast Seabird Partnership since the FSA was formed and has enjoyed giving input and watching the development of the FSA and the Florida Shorebird Database. In the winter, she coordinates the data side of the Florida Winter Shorebird Survey. Since 2000, Beth's research has primarily focused on monitoring beach nesting birds and how best to conserve these species. Much of this was made possible by Marianne Korosy (Audubon Florida), who enabled Beth to get her Federal Master Banding permit. This research has involved a lot of quality time with amazing volunteers in the parking lots of Tampa Bay to band least tern chicks who fell off rooftops to measure survival. She has monitored black skimmer colonies and helped develop the bird steward program. With help from a lot of FSA partners, she has banded black skimmers since 2015 and collected >16,000 resightings, including birds who traveled to Mexico, Cuba and New Jersey. She has dabbled in some plover work and is amazed at how important Florida is for overwintering shorebirds! Beth recently became the President of St. Petersburg Audubon and is also an avid birder. Don’t tell her family that every vacation is secretly made after consulting the eBird lists! Note: The bird in the photo was handled under the federal permit #. Save-the-Date: MarineQuest February 8, 2025 MarineQuest is the annual open house for the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Held in conjunction with the St. Petersburg Science Festival, MarineQuest will occur on February 8 at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute's St. Petersburg campus; admission is free to all. MarineQuest is a great opportunity to learn more about Florida’s fish, wildlife, and their habitats and the cutting-edge research that Institute scientists are leading all around the state. It will feature touch tanks and demonstrations - something for everyone! Tell your friends and be sure to stop by to see the shorebird display! FSD Updates Save the Date: FSD Webinars It’s that time of year again! The start of the 2025 shorebird and seabird breeding season is fast approaching and the FSD will reopen in March. The FSD team has put together a series of webinars tailored for monitors with all levels of experience. March 11, 1-2 pm (EST): FSD webinar for new route surveyors. Learn the basics of the Breeding Bird Protocol and how to enter surveys into the database. March 12, 1-2 pm (EST): FSD webinar for returning route surveyors. This refresher includes important updates to the database and review of the Breeding Bird Protocol. March 13, 1-2 pm (EST): FSD webinar for new and returning rooftop monitors. Learn the basics of monitoring seabirds and shorebirds on rooftops and how to enter surveys in the database. Registration is now open for the 2025 FSD webinars. Details and instructions will be emailed to registered participants prior to the webinars. REGISTER TODAY! Email FLShorebirdDatabase@MyFWC.com if you have any questions! Ebb Tidings

Join us! The 2025 breeding season is just around the corner. There are many ways to get involved in conserving Florida's charismatic shorebirds and seabirds. Every breeding season there are opportunities to get involved through: posting important nesting areas; educating the public by stewarding at breeding colonies and nesting sites; and monitoring birds nesting on the ground or at one of the many rooftops that host nesting birds.  If you would like to get involved in the 2025 breeding season activities, email shorebird@MyFWC.com for more information about your local partnership and opportunities. You can also learn about local efforts by joining the flock on social media: Florida Shorebird Alliance Facebook Group. Photo by Jean Hall Want to get involved? Email shorebird@MyFWC.com for more information about your local partnership.   Join the flock on social media: Florida Shorebird Alliance Facebook Group 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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