Reports from the Panhandle on the first-of-season Snowy Plover nests are coming in.  Phipps Preserve had a first full nest of 3 eggs on March 13 and Dog Island had its first egg on the 11. Reports of nest activity have come in from St. George Island State Park and Navarre Beach.

The Snowy Plovers have been pairing up, selecting mates and making scrapes, which is their pre-nesting breeding behavior, since early February. The American Oystercatchers have also been pairing up and making scrapes. Their nests will be active any time now. On paper, the official season is Mid-February thru August, but birds don’t read! So we all adjust accordingly if needed.

Over the Winter:

While bitter sweet, a congratulations is in order to USFWS for declaring the Rufa Red Knot as a threatened species under the ESA. Keep this link handy as we’ll be updating it throughout the season with additional news. You can also read about the efforts of Panhandle Rooftop Coordinator Michele Landis and her volunteers and staff, making nesting safer for rooftop nesting birds throughout the panhandle.

We’ve conducted workshops and reached out to law enforcement, sea turtle and beach mice professionals, state park personnel, and lifeguards – all professionals who work on our beaches.  Our goal is to help educate on behalf of beach-nesting birds and share ideas on how to help these species that are in trouble. We’ve also been providing educational walks, articles, new species identification signs and public speaking engagements in communities across the panhandle. Finally, the winter has provided us the opportunity to focus on non-breeding bird surveys as well as some habitat restoration and enhancement.

Staff, partners and volunteers have been busy getting sites posted under FWC guidelines and it’s looking good. We all started our weekly breeding surveys at sites across the Panhandle and we report our data into the Florida Shorebird Alliance Database. www.Flshorebirdalliance.org   This FWC link is a good resource for bird stewards and offers lots of information on beach-nesting birds.

Upcoming:

We’ll soon need Bird Steward volunteers at nesting areas from Pensacola to Bald Point SP! On beaches and rooftops. This is your time to see those cute little birds, have an excuse to get to the beach, conduct citizen science and provide a critical component in the coastal bird management plans.  Your efforts often help determine the success of our breeding birds. Without this direct protection and educational outreach to beachgoers, nesting sites will often fail. This is especially true on summer weekends and holidays. If you are new and wish to volunteer, contact FLConservation@audubon.org.

Coastal bird walks for shorebird migration and beach-nesting birds will also be conducted by Audubon staff. Contact: BSamuelsen@audubon.org if you are interested.