South Florida Wading Bird Report 2008
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SOUTH FLORIDA WADING BIRD REPORT Volume 14 Mark I. Cook and Mac Kobza, Editors November 2008 IN MEMORY The contributors and editors of the South Florida Wading Bird Report dedicate this year’s issue to the memory of Damion Marx, Phil Heidemann and Gareth Akerman, three young ecologists who tragically lost their lives on March 13, 2008 while conducting an aerial survey of wading birds around Lake Okeechobee. Damion, Phil and Gareth were research students and professionals in the lab of Dale Gawlik at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton. Damion was close to finishing his PhD dissertation on the influence of patch structure on wading bird foraging patterns, Phil was an M.S. candidate developing a landscape suitability index for Wood Stork and White Ibis in Damion Marx southwestern Florida, and Gareth was looking to gain additional experience in conservation biology after recently completing his Masters dissertation on the role of riparian buffers in forest bird conservation at Dalhousie University, Canada. There is no question that all had a sense of adventure, a desire to improve our world and fervor for understanding and protecting nature. All were devoted to advancing wading bird conservation and Everglades restoration. They risked and lost their lives in the backwaters of south Florida, doing what they loved and what they passionately believed would benefit the ecosystems of south Florida. They will be sorely missed by their colleagues, but neither they nor their important research will be forgotten. Further words from their mentor and good friend, Dale Gawlik, can be found at the link below. Phil Heidemann http://www.science.fau.edu/biology/gawliklab/memorial/ memorial.html Gareth Akerman Wading Bird Report 1 for two consecutive years (see special section). White Ibis SYSTEM-WIDE SUMMARY numbers were down 61% on last year and 64% lower than the past ten years. Roseate Spoonbill nest numbers were the lowest Water-year 2008 (May 2007 through Apr 2008) included the tail- since records began in 1983. end of an official two-year drought and started with below average stage and a delayed onset to the wet season. Annual Nesting effort in the Everglades is rarely distributed uniformly rainfall was generally above average, particularly in the northern among regions. In 2008, WCA-1 supported the most nests WCAs, but its timing was far from normal with limited (71%) followed by WCA-3 (23%), whereas ENP supported only precipitation during the wet season and multiple large rain events 6%. This spatial distribution of nests continues the recent trend during the dry season. This resulted in below average stages and of an annual increase in the proportion of birds nesting in WCA- generally dry conditions at the onset of wading bird nesting, and 1 at the expense of nesting in WCA-3. ENP historically a series of rainfall induced reversals during peak nesting. supported the largest number of nests in the system at the traditional estuarine “rookeries” downstream of Shark Slough. The estimated number of wading bird nests in South Florida in Nesting effort in the estuaries has increased gradually over recent 2008 was 18,418. This is a 51% decrease relative to last year’s years (e.g., 20% in 2006) but this year these regions supported season, 74% less than the 68,750 nests of 2002, which was the only minimum nesting. CERP’s goal is to increase the best nesting year on record in South Florida since the 1940s, and proportion of birds nesting in this estuarine ecotone. Another 59% less than the average of the last eight years. This year, pattern over the past ten years has been for a large proportion of counts from J. N. ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge nests in South Florida to be concentrated in a single large colony Complex are included in the total after a survey hiatus of two (Alley North) located in northeast WCA-3A. For two years. consecutive breeding seasons Alley North and the adjacent marsh dried prior to breeding and nesting was not initiated at the Systematic nest survey coverage was expanded in 2005 to include colony. Lake Okeechobee and the recently restored section of the Kissimmee River floodplain. In 2008, we expand coverage further with the introduction of nest counts from Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve. For Lake Okeechobee, 2008 ranks as the Locations of wading bird colonies with ≥ 50 worst nesting year on record with a peak of only 39 nests. This is nests in South Florida, 2008. a dramatic reduction on the 11,310 nests observed in 2006 and lower even than the poor nesting effort of 2007 when 774 nests Kissimmee River were recorded. On the restored sections of the Kissimmee floodplain, the timing and magnitude of floodplain inundation and recession are not yet optimal for colony formation, and nesting has been very limited in recent decades. In 2008 only six Lake Okeechobee nests were recorded on the floodplain. Implementation of the regulation schedule for the Headwaters Revitalization Project in Solid Waste Authority 2010 will allow water managers to more closely mimic the Caloosahatchee WCA 1 River historical stage and discharge characteristics of the river, Ding Rotenberger and (Loxahatchee presumably leading to suitable hydrologic conditions for wading NWR) Darling Holey Land WMA bird nesting colonies. Estero Bay supported 206 wading bird Estero nests in 2008. Note that the totals for these three regions are not Bay WCA 3 WCA 2 included in the system-wide total. BCNP All species of wading birds suffered significantly reduced nest numbers relative to the past ten years. For example, Wood Stork Southwest reproduction was very much reduced and this was the first time Coast that nesting was not initiated at the historical Corkscrew colony ENP INSIDE THIS ISSUE 3 Hydrology 2008 Florida Bay 7 Regional Nesting Reports 32 Regional Bird Abundance Generally, nesting was not successful for most species. Many 43 Population Recovery Status 2008 birds abandoned nests throughout the system after rain-induced water level reversals in March and April. In the few places that 45 Special Topics Wood Storks attempted to nest in the Everglades (Paurotis Pond and Cuthbert Lake) all nests failed following these rain events. However, the presence of large numbers of mature White Ibis Wading Bird Report 2 nestling at Lox West colony in July suggested that late-nesting ibis in WCA-1 were reasonably successful. HYDROLOGY 2008 Two of four species-groups, White Ibis and Great Egrets, met The amount of rain in the Everglades Protection Area (EPA) for the numeric nesting targets proposed by the South Florida Water Year 2008 (WY08 May 1, 2007 through April 30, 2008) Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. Two other targets for the was greater than last year by as much as 10.6 inches, in WCA-1, Everglades restoration are an increase in the number of nesting or by as little as 4.6 inches, in WCA-3. Most of this added wading birds in the coastal Everglades and a shift in the timing rainfall fell during the dry season, during wading bird nesting, of Wood Stork nesting to earlier in the breeding season (Ogden, making wading bird foraging conditions less than favorable. The 1994). The 2008 nesting year showed no improvement in the rainfall and associated stage readings for WY2008 are shown in timing of Wood Stork nesting or a general shift of colony Table 1 below. Water Conservation Areas 1 and 2 saw a 7% locations. increase in historic rainfall amounts and a 24% increase over WY07. On–the-other-hand, Water Conservation Areas 3 saw a Although reproductive output was limited this year, Systematic 5% decrease in historic rainfall amounts and only a 10% increase Reconnaissance Flight surveys revealed that the Everglades was over WY07. The Everglades National Park (ENP) saw a 10% an important foraging area in WY2008. A total of 632,016 birds increase in historic rainfall amounts and a 15% increase over were counted in the WCAs and ENP between December 2007 WY07. It is interesting to note that after a year of severe and June 2008, which is 29% more than the five-year average. drought, the maximum stage for WCA-1 in WY08 came close to The temporal patterns of abundance in 2008 were remarkably the historic maximum stage. This kind of hydrology may account similar to last year, with high numbers observed from December for the resilience of the wading bird populations that were through March followed by a marked decline from April as clustering in this region in WY08. water levels increased. On the restored sections of the Kissimmee River floodplain the mean number of birds per In WY08 most of the rain fell during the wet season months of square kilometer rebounded after the post-restoration low of June and September and then again during the dry season 2007, but this was less than a third of the density observed in months of February, March and April. In ENP, rain in June was 2006. 13.28 inches and in September was 10.99 inches creating a pulse- like hydrograph (see Figure 1). In March to April monthly This year’s poor reproductive effort and success were almost rainfall in the Park averaged about 2.75 inches. In the WCA’s, certainly due to two preceding years of drought and its affect on rain in June was about 8.5 inches and in September was about system-wide prey productivity. Low stages and short 9.0 inches. In the WCA’s there were only two months out of the hydroperiods are not conducive to fish and crayfish production, year that rainfall dropped below 1 inch for the month.