DOCSLIB.ORG

Federal Register/Vol. 77, No. 247/Wednesday, December 26

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Federal Register/Vol. 77, No. 247/Wednesday, December 26 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 26, 2012 / Proposed Rules 75947 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR you use a telecommunications device • When the continental U.S. breeding for the deaf (TDD), please call the population of wood stork was listed in Fish and Wildlife Service Federal Information Relay Service 1984, the population was known to (FIRS) at 800–877–8339, 24 hours a day, occur only in Florida, Georgia, South 50 CFR Part 17 7 days a week. Carolina, and Alabama. Based on new [Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2011–0020; SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: information about where the population 92220–1113–0000–C6] is found and where nesting is occurring, Executive Summary the population is now known to occur RIN 1018–AX60 Why We Need To Publish a Rule in North Carolina and Mississippi in addition to Florida, Georgia, South Endangered and Threatened Wildlife • In September 2007, we completed a Carolina, and Alabama. and Plants; Reclassification of the 5-year status review, which included a • The best available scientific and Continental U.S. Breeding Population recommendation to reclassify the commercial data indicate that since the of the Wood Stork From Endangered to continental U.S. breeding population of continental U.S. breeding population of Threatened the wood stork from endangered to wood stork was listed as endangered in threatened. AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 1984, the population has been • In May 2009, we received a petition Interior. increasing and its breeding range has to reclassify the continental U.S. ACTION: Proposed rule and notice of expanded significantly. breeding population of wood stork; the • Downlisting criteria from the petition finding. petition incorporated the Service’s 5- recovery plan have been met or SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and year review as its sole supporting exceeded. We have had 3-year information. population averages of total nesting Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), • propose to reclassify the continental On September 21, 2010, we pairs of wood storks higher than 6,000 United States (U.S.) breeding population published a 90-day finding that the nesting pairs since 2003. However, the of wood stork from endangered to petition presented substantial 5-year average number of nesting pairs threatened under the Endangered information indicating that reclassifying is still below the benchmark of 10,000 Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). the wood stork may be warranted (75 FR nesting pairs identified in the recovery 57426). plan for delisting. In addition, We find that the best available scientific • and commercial data indicate that the This proposed rule, in accordance productivity, even though variable, is endangered designation no longer with section 4(b)(3)(B) of the sufficient to support a growing correctly reflects the current status of Endangered Species Act (Act), population. • the continental U.S. breeding constitutes our 12-month finding on the As a result of continued loss, population of the wood stork due to a petition we received. fragmentation, and modification of substantial improvement in the species’ Summary of the Major Provisions of wetland habitats in parts of the wood overall status. This proposed rule also This Proposed Rule stork’s range, we find that the constitutes our 12-month finding on the continental U.S. wood stork DPS meets • We propose to reclassify the petition to reclassify the species. the definition of a threatened species continental U.S. breeding population of under section 3 of the Act. DATES: We will accept comments on this wood stork from endangered to proposed rule received or postmarked threatened. Public Comments on or before February 25, 2013. We must • This proposed rule constitutes our We intend that any final action receive requests for a public hearing, in 12-month petition finding. resulting from this proposed rule will be FOR writing at the address shown in the • We determine that the continental as accurate and as effective as possible. FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section, U.S. breeding population of wood stork Therefore, we are requesting comments by February 11, 2013. meets the criteria of a distinct from other concerned governmental ADDRESSES: You may submit comments population segment (DPS) under our agencies, Native American Tribes, the by one of the following methods: 1996 DPS policy (61 FR 4722). scientific community, industry, or any • Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// • We propose to amend the List of other interested party concerning this www.regulations.gov. Follow the Endangered and Threatened Wildlife proposed rule. We particularly seek instructions for submitting comments (50 CFR 17.11(h)) to reflect that the U.S. information and comments concerning: on Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2011–0020. wood stork DPS is found in the States (1) The historical and current status • U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and distribution of the wood stork, its Comments Processing, Attn: FWS–R4– North Carolina, Alabama, and biology and ecology, and ongoing ES–2011–0020; Division of Policy and Mississippi. conservation measures for the species Directives Management; U.S. Fish and and its habitat. The Basis for Our Action Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, (2) Wood stork nesting colony Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203. • The continental U.S. breeding location data (latitude/longitude in We will post all comments on population of wood stork was listed decimal degrees to confirm or improve http://www.regulations.gov. This under the Act in 1984, prior to our location accuracy); nest census generally means that we will post any publication of the joint policy of the counts and survey dates; years when a personal information you provide us National Marine Fisheries Service and colony was active or not; years and (see the Public Comments section below U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dates when a colony was abandoned for more information). (Services) regarding the recognition of (fully or partially); and annual FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: distinct vertebrate population segments productivity rates (per total nest starts Field Supervisor, North Florida (61 FR 4722). We find that the and per successful nests) and average Ecological Services Field Office, 7915 continental U.S. breeding population of chicks per nest estimates from Baymeadows Way, Suite 200, wood stork meets the discreteness and continental U.S. colonies. Jacksonville, FL 32256; telephone 904– significance elements of the Services’ (3) Current or planned activities 731–3336; facsimile 904–731–3045. If DPS policy and is a valid DPS. within the geographic range of the VerDate Mar<15>2010 06:27 Dec 22, 2012 Jkt 229001 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\26DEP1.SGM 26DEP1 ebenthall on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with 75948 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 26, 2012 / Proposed Rules continental U.S. breeding population of and reports, including the revised also occasionally consume crustaceans, the wood stork that may impact or recovery plan for the continental U.S. amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds, benefit the species, including any breeding population of the wood stork and arthropods (Coulter et al. 1999, p. acquisition of large tracts of wetlands, (USFWS 1997), The Birds of North 7). Wood storks forage in a variety of wetland restoration projects, planned America Online species account for shallow wetlands, wherever prey developments, roads, or expansion of wood stork (Coulter et al. 1999), and the concentrations reach high enough agricultural or mining enterprises, South Florida Multi-Species Recovery densities, in water that is shallow and especially those near nesting colonies Plan (USFWS 1999). open enough for the birds to be and surrounding suitable foraging successful in their hunting efforts Taxonomy and Species Description habitats. (Ogden et al. 1978, pp. 15–17; Browder Prior to issuing a final rule on this The wood stork (Mycteria americana) 1984, p. 94; Coulter and Bryan 1993, p. proposed action, we will take into is one of 19 species of storks that make 59). Fish populations reach high consideration all comments and up the family Ciconiidae (Coulter et al. numbers during the wet season, but additional information we receive. Such 1999, p. 3). It is one of three species of become concentrated in increasingly information may lead to a final rule that storks found in the western hemisphere restricted habitats as drying occurs. differs from this proposal. All comments (Coulter et al. 1999, p. 3) and the only Typical foraging sites include and recommendations, including names stork that breeds north of Mexico freshwater marshes, swales, ponds, and addresses, will become part of the (Ogden 1990, p. B–3). The wood stork hardwood and cypress swamps, narrow administrative record for the final rule. shows no obvious morphological tidal creeks or shallow tidal pools, and You may submit your comments and differentiation across its range, and no artificial wetlands (such as stock ponds; materials concerning this proposed rule subspecies have been proposed. shallow, seasonally flooded, roadside or by one of the methods listed in the The wood stork is a large, long-legged agricultural ditches; and ADDRESSES section. If you submit a wading bird, with a head-to-tail length impoundments) (Coulter and Bryan comment via http:// of 85–115 centimeters (cm) (33–45 1993, p. 59; Coulter et al. 1999, p. 5). www.regulations.gov, your entire inches (in)) and a wingspread of 150– The wetland foraging areas near a comment, including any personal 165 cm (59–65 in- or roughly 5 to 5.5 nesting colony play a vital role during identifying information, will be posted feet). The plumage is white, except for the nesting season (Cox et al. 1994, p. on the Web site. Please note that iridescent black primary and secondary 135). Nesting wood storks generally use comments submitted to this Web site are wing feathers and a short black tail.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Handling and Intake of Plastic Debris by Wood Storks at an Urban Site in South-Eastern Brazil: Possible Causes and Consequences
    NORTH-WESTERN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY 11 (2): 372-374 ©NwjZ, Oradea, Romania, 2015 Article No.: 147601 http://biozoojournals.ro/nwjz/index.html Handling and intake of plastic debris by Wood Storks at an urban site in South-eastern Brazil: possible causes and consequences Ivan SAZIMA1,* and Giulia B. D’ANGELO2 1. Museu de Zoologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-970 Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. 2. Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-970 Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. *Corresponding author, I. Sazima, E-mail: [email protected] Received: 20. September 2014 / Accepted: 12. December 2014 / Available online: 01. November 2015 / Printed: December 2015 Anthropogenic inedible debris increases in the picked pieces of plastic cable were individually identified food chain of seabirds, marine turtles, and by differences on neck feathering and bill colour. cetaceans and becomes a worldwide problem (e.g. Sequenced photographs allowed the timing of the behavioural events for two of these individuals. Denuncio et al. 2011, Avery-Gomm et al. 2013, Throughout the observations, we used the “ad libitum” Schluyter et al. 2013, Donnelly-Greenan et al. 2014, sampling (Altmann 1974), which is adequate to record Provencher et al. 2015), but this material is rarely rare events. reported entering the food chain of inland wildlife (Peris 2003, Booth 2011, Henry et al. 2011). Storks Among small groups of Wood Storks that varied of the genus Ciconia are opportunistic visual from 2 to 8 migrant individuals comprised of up to hunters that prey mostly on fish, frogs, snakes, 2 adults and 6 juveniles, we recorded the small mammals, and a variety of insects (Elliott behaviour of 4 juveniles (subadults sensu Coulton 1992).
    [Show full text]
  • Wood-Stork-2005.Pdf
    WOOD STORK Mycteria americana Photo of adult wood stork in landing posture and chicks in Close-up photo of adult wood stork. nest. Photo courtesy of USFWS/Photo by George Gentry Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. FAMILY: Ciconiidae STATUS: Endangered - U.S. Breeding Population (Federal Register, February 28, 1984) [Service Proposed for status upgrade to Threatened, December 26, 2013] DESCRIPTION: Wood storks are large, long-legged wading birds, about 45 inches tall, with a wingspan of 60 to 65 inches. The plumage is white except for black primaries and secondaries and a short black tail. The head and neck are largely unfeathered and dark gray in color. The bill is black, thick at the base, and slightly decurved. Immature birds have dingy gray feathers on their head and a yellowish bill. FEEDING HABITS: Small fish from 1 to 6 inches long, especially topminnows and sunfish, provide this bird's primary diet. Wood storks capture their prey by a specialized technique known as grope-feeding or tacto-location. Feeding often occurs in water 6 to 10 inches deep, where a stork probes with the bill partly open. When a fish touches the bill it quickly snaps shut. The average response time of this reflex is 25 milliseconds, making it one of the fastest reflexes known in vertebrates. Wood storks use thermals to soar as far as 80 miles from nesting to feeding areas. Since thermals do not form in early morning, wood storks may arrive at feeding areas later than other wading bird species such as herons.
    [Show full text]
  • Spread-Wing Postures and Their Possible Functions in the Ciconiidae
    THE AUK A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY Von. 88 Oc:roBE'a 1971 No. 4 SPREAD-WING POSTURES AND THEIR POSSIBLE FUNCTIONS IN THE CICONIIDAE M. P. KAI-IL IN two recent papers Clark (19'69) and Curry-Lindahl (1970) have reported spread-wingpostures in storks and other birds and discussed someof the functionsthat they may serve. During recent field studies (1959-69) of all 17 speciesof storks, I have had opportunitiesto observespread-wing postures. in a number of speciesand under different environmentalconditions (Table i). The contextsin which thesepostures occur shed somelight on their possible functions. TYPES OF SPREAD-WING POSTURES Varying degreesof wing spreadingare shownby at least 13 species of storksunder different conditions.In somestorks (e.g. Ciconia nigra, Euxenuragaleata, Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, and ]abiru mycteria) I observedno spread-wingpostures and have foundno referenceto them in the literature. In the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) I observedonly a wing-droopingposture--with the wings held a short distanceaway from the sidesand the primaries fanned downward--in migrant birds wetted by a heavy rain at NgorongoroCrater, Tanzania. Other species often openedthe wingsonly part way, in a delta-wingposture (Frontis- piece), in which the forearmsare openedbut the primariesremain folded so that their tips crossin front o.f or below the. tail. In some species (e.g. Ibis leucocephalus)this was the most commonly observedspread- wing posture. All those specieslisted in Table i, with the exception of C. ciconia,at times adopted a full-spreadposture (Figures i, 2, 3), similar to those referred to by Clark (1969) and Curry-Lindahl (1970) in severalgroups of water birds.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of the Southern Florida Wood Stork Population
    Wilson Bull., 98(3), 1986, pp. 368-386 THE HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN FLORIDA WOOD STORK POPULATION JAMES A. KUSHLAN AND PAULA C. FROHRING ’ AswnAcr.-The largest segment of the North American Wood Stork (Mycteria ameri- cam) population traditionally nested in southern Florida, where its perceived population decrease over the last 50 years resulted in its addition to the Federal endangered species list. Previously published reports placed the southern Florida population at 30,000 to 100,000 storks. A complete search of published and unpublished records of Wood Storks nesting in southern Florida, however, failed to support such a long-term population decrease. We cannot demonstrate that the historical population was any larger than it was in 1967, when there were 9400 pairs. The Corkscrew-Big Cypress nesting group, not that of the Everglades, was historically the most numerically important population segment. The historic nesting location for southernmost Wood Storks was not inland in the Everglades but on Cape Sable, which has been subject to the effects of drainage canals. The population size of several decades ago is irrelevant to current conservation strategy because the southern Florida marshes have been irrevocably altered reducing their ability to support storks. We can document a population decrease of 75% from 1967 to 1981-82 in southern Florida, a time frame coincident with the operation of water management policies in the Everglades. Wood Storks recently have begun abandoning traditional colony sites in Everglades National Park in favor of sites in shallow reservoirs to the north. Drainage of the Big Cypress Swamp and maintenance of seasonally excessive water levels in the Everglades of Everglades National Park account for the storks’ repeated nesting failure and population decrease.
    [Show full text]
  • Factors Affecting Reproductive Success of Wood Storks (Mycteria Americana) in East-Central Georgia
    The Auk 112(1):237-243, 1995 FACTORS AFFECTING REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF WOOD STORKS (MYCTERIA AMERICANA) IN EAST-CENTRAL GEORGIA MALCOLM C. COULTER• AND A. LAWRENCEBRYAN, JR. SavannahRiver Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken,South Carolina 29802, USA ABS?R•cr.--From1984 through 1989, we examinedthe reproductivesuccess of WoodStorks (Mycteriaamericana) at the Birdsvillecolony in east-centralGeorgia. Average fledging success rangedamong years from 0.33to 2.16fledglings per nest.For neststhat producedfledglings, prey availabilitywas an importantfactor affecting reproductive success. Yearly averageprey densitiesat foragingsites were significantlycorrelated with the averagenumber of fledglings producedfrom successfulnests. Among 243 nestsobserved, all eggsor chickswere lostfrom 104(43%) nests. Five factorswere associatedwith the lossof entire clutchesor broods.During the two driest years, 1985 and 1988, raccoon(Procyon lotor) predation eliminated almost all chicks.Many nestswere abandonedearly in 1989, following periodsof cold weather when the parentsappeared to be under stress.In 1985, the birds desertedthe colony before egg laying when the area experiencedfreezing weather. Following nest abandonmentswithin the colony,paired adultsthat presumablyhad abandonedtheir nestswere involved in nest takeoversthat alsocaused the lossof eggsand chicks.Three stormsduring the studycaused the lossof a few nests.Some losses were due to unknown factors.The importanceof these mortality factorsvaried from year to year. Nest abandonmentsand subsequentaggression seemto be related to cold periodsearly in the season.Raccoon predation seems to be related to drying out of the water under the colony.This suggeststhat the storkshave a window in time when it is bestto breed--afterthe winter and earlyspring cold weather and beforethe water dries under the colony in the summer.Received 4 December1991, accepted 15 November 1992.
    [Show full text]
  • Recent Wood Stork Population Trends in the United States
    Wilson’ Bull., 91(4), 1979, pp. 512-523 RECENT WOOD STORK POPULATION TRENDS IN THE UNITED STATES JOHN C. OGDEN AND STEPHEN A. NESBITT The population of Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) resident in the United States occurs on the coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico and the southern Atlantic states. Historically, storks nested in all coastal states from Texas to South Carolina (Bent 1926, Cone and Hall 1970, Dusi and Dusi 1968, Howell 1932, Oberholser 1938, Oberholser and Kincaid 1974, Wayne 1910), although colonies outside Florida formed irregularly and contained few birds. The United States population of storks was not greatly disturbed during the plume-hunting era (Allen 1958), and probably con- tained between 75,000 and 100,000 birds of all age classes during the early twentieth century (Ogden 1978). I ncreased land development and the as- sociated drainage of freshwater wetlands eliminated many nesting and feeding sites, resulting in a severe decline in the total number of storks. Concern for the fate of this species in the United States was first expressed during the late 1950s (Allen 1958, Sprunt and Kahl 1960). A series of aerial surveys was conducted between 1957 and 1960, in an attempt to locate all remaining Wood Stork nesting colonies in the United States. Renewed concern for the status of storks during the early 1970s resulted in a second series of aerial surveys beginning in 1974. These 2 surveys produced the first complete counts of the number of storks nesting in the United States, and revealed that major colonies continued to decline between surveys.
    [Show full text]
  • Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis Aethiopicus)1
    Archival copy: for current recommendations see http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu or your local extension office. WEC267 Florida's Introduced Birds: Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus)1 Steve Johnson and Monica McGarrity2 Many non-native birds have been introduced in prey. Sacred Ibises are larger than Florida's native Florida—perhaps as many as 200 species! Of these, ibises. Adults are approximately 30 inches long (75 at least 16 introduced species are considered cm) with a wingspan of 44–49 inches (112–124 established, according to various authorities, and cm) and weigh about 3 pounds (1.4 kg). Sacred Ibises some are now considered invasive and could have (Fig. 1) have mostly white bodies and wings; the serious impacts in Florida. This fact sheet introduces trailing edges of their wings (tips of the feathers) are the Sacred Ibis, and is one of a series of fact sheets gray-black. They have very distinctive long, black about Florida's established non-native birds and their feathers or plumes on their rumps (Fig. 1). During the impacts on our native ecosystems, economy, and the breeding season the feathers on the sides of their quality of life of Floridians. For more information on chests and on the outer wings (near the edge when Florida's introduced birds, how they got here, and the folded) may have a yellowish (or reddish) tinge, and problems they cause, read "Florida's Introduced their lower legs may be tinged with reddish-copper; Birds: An Overview" bare patches of scarlet-red skin may also be visible (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW297) and the other fact under their wings.
    [Show full text]
  • Demographic Model for the Wood Stork
    A Preliminary Model of Wood Stork Population Dynamics in the Southeastern United States RENA R. BORKHATARIA1,5, PETER C. FREDERICK1, REBECCA HYLTON2, A. LAWRENCE BRYAN, JR.3 AND JAMES A. RODGERS4 1Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 2Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 3Savannah River Ecological Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC 29802 4Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Gainesville, FL 32601 5Corresponding author; Internet: [email protected] Abstract.—We modeled population dynamics and extinction probabilities for the endangered Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) using count data from synoptic aerial surveys, annual measures of productivity from through- out the southeastern U.S., and survival data from satellite-tagged juveniles. Using a simple, count-based diffusion approximation approach we were able to quantify an increasing population trend since 1976. High inter-year vari- ability resulted in wide confidence intervals and we could not eliminate the possibility of long-term population de- cline in spite of recently measured population increases. We also used a stage-based population matrix model to incorporate observed differences in survival rates among age classes. Fledging success, and survival of fledglings, one, and two-year-old birds were estimated using data from the satellite telemetry study. Because the survival rates of three-year-olds and adults are presently unknown, we analyzed population dynamics over a range of these values. Long-term population growth was most sensitive to changes in adult survivorship. This deterministic matrix model indicated that adult survival rates >0.94 were necessary to maintain a growing population, an estimate considerably higher than that observed in the European White Stork (Ciconia ciconia).
    [Show full text]
  • The Status and Occurrence of Wood Stork (Mycteria Americana) in British Columbia
    The Status and Occurrence of Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) in British Columbia. By Rick Toochin and Jamie Fenneman. Introduction and Distribution The Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) is widespread and often common throughout much of South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean (Coulter et al. 1999). It also occurs year-round in Florida and the surrounding areas of the southeastern U.S. (north to South Carolina, east to the Florida Panhandle) and is a regular migrant elsewhere along the U.S. Gulf coast (Coulter et al. 1999). It is an uncommon post-breeding visitor to southernmost California as well as north in the eastern United States, and rarely reaching eastern Canada (Dunn and Alderfer 2011). Populations in the southeastern United States have declined slightly from the early 1900s, although the magnitude of the decline has been debated (Coulter et al. 1999). The post-breeding population that visits southern California, however, has declined precipitously since the 1970s, when the species was considered common at the Salton Sea (Shuford and Gardali 2008). Similarly, although the species formerly occurred along the south coast of California throughout the Imperial Valley (including the Salton Sea), and along the Colorado River, virtually the entire post-breeding population now occurs only along the southern shores of the Salton Sea near the Mexican border (Shuford and Gardali 2008). As this western population is possibly the source of potential vagrants to the Pacific Northwest, these declines may influence the likelihood of future vagrants to British Columbia. The only other record in northwestern North America is of an immature bird that was collected in Boise County, Idaho in June 1910 (IBRC 2011).
    [Show full text]
  • South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Wood Stork Mycteria
    Wood Stork Mycteria americana Contributor: Thomas M. Murphy DESCRIPTION Taxonomy and Basic Description The wood stork is one of 19 species in the family Ciconiidae and one of four species in the genus Mycteris. They are morphologically indistinguishable across the species’ range and no subspecies have been proposed. Likewise, genetic studies on 15 nesting colonies in Florida showed Photo by SC DNR little genetic variation (Stangel et al. 1990). Wood storks are the only stork species and the largest wading bird that breeds in the United States. They are large, long-legged birds with a head to tail length of 85 to 115 cm (33 to 45 inches) and a wingspan of 150 to 165 cm (59 to 65 inches). Adults are white except for their primary and secondary wing and tail feathers, which are black with a greenish sheen. Adults have an unfeathered head and neck with a long, thick black bill. The legs and feet are dark; toes are pink during the breeding season. Subadults are similar except the head and neck have grayish feathers that are gradually lost as the bird matures. Subadults also have a pale yellow bill. Status Wood storks were listed as endangered on February 28, 1984, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1984). They are also listed as endangered under the South Carolina Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act. The South Carolina Heritage Trust Program lists the wood stork as threatened in this state (S1/S2) and uncommon but not rare or apparently secure globally (G4) (NatureServe 2005).
    [Show full text]
  • The Wood Stork Colonies in the Northeastern Corozal District, Belize
    The Wood Stork Colonies in the Northeastern Corozal District, Belize. 1991 and 1992 Seasons. Including a Report on Other Bird Colonies in the Chetumal Bay Area Jan C. Meerman T h ere are only two species of s torks (Ciconiidae) occurring in Belize. The most famous one is the Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria), Belize’s largest bird and a well-known conservation symbol. The second species is the Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) and the history of the Wood Stork in Belize is one of rapid decline. Until a few decades ago, the numbers of breeding Wood Storks breeding in the Coastal lagoons of n orthern Belize apparently reached several thousands. Local and Mexican fishermen collected the young birds to barbecue them. Thousands of young birds were offered annually at the markets of Corozal (Belize) and Chetumal (Quintana Roo). The adult birds reacted to the destruction of their offspring by moving to other nesting sites. Sometimes a colony would escape the attention of the hunters for a year, but eventually the colony was always located and the slaughter continued. Numbers of Wood Storks dwindled and it is assumed that in 1982 all known colonies were abandoned (Weyer 1986). In February 1991 during an overflight of the area, two small bird colonies containing nesting Wood Storks were discovered. One colony was located within the 114 The Wood Stork colonies in Corozal Shipstern Nature Reserve while the other was located in Spanish Point Lagoon, 40 km South of Sarteneja. Although these sightings were the first confirmed breeding records of Wood Storks in Belize for several years it is assumed that both colonies were in existence from at least one year earlier (based on information of local informants).
    [Show full text]
  • South Florida Wading Bird Report 2007
    SOUTH FLORIDA WADING BIRD REPORT Volume 13 Mark I. Cook and Heidi K. Herring, Editors October 2007 This year, all species of wading birds experienced reduced SYSTEM-WIDE SUMMARY nesting effort relative to 2006 but the most extreme declines were for Wood Storks (79%), Tricolored Herons (69%) and Below average rainfall through the 2006 wet season resulted in Snowy Egrets (96%). Number of Spoonbill nests was 19% the early onset of the 2007 dry season over much of South below the mean annual average since 1984, and number of Florida. Continued below average precipitation led to good White Ibis nests was 16% lower than 2006 but similar to the recession rates, only minor reversals in stage, but water levels annual average of the past ten years. In general, 2007 was a poor that were generally lower on average than at any time since the wading bird breeding season in terms of nesting effort compared drought of 2001. By the time of peak nesting activity in to the past ten years and pre-drainage years, but successful March/April, some areas were too dry for foraging or colony relative to the period 1960-1998. formation. As usual, nesting effort in the Everglades was not uniformly The estimated number of wading bird nests in South Florida in distributed among regions. WCA-3 and WCA-1 supported the water year 2007 was 37,623 (excluding Cattle Egrets, which are most nests (47% and 44% respectively) whereas ENP supported not dependent on wetlands). This is a 31% decrease relative to only 9% of nests.
    [Show full text]