Naturalist SPRING 2016 It’s a Baby Issue Photo by Linda Martino 2016 Florida Audubon Society Leadership Steve Lynch, Chairman Eric Draper Executive Director, Audubon Florida Photo By Ralph Arwood Florida Audubon Society President, Florida Audubon Society Board of Directors Steve Lynch, Chair of the Board Jud Laird, Vice Chair Dear Audubon Members and Supporters, West McCann, Board Secretary Michael Sheridan, Board Treasurer Few things in nature touch us like babies in the wild. Birds’ mighty efforts to nest, hatch, Lester Abberger feed, and fledge their young tell us so much about the resiliency of nature. People connect Carolyn Antman Jim Brady with parents’ struggle to adequately provide for the next generation. David Cox Jennifer Johnson Duke This issue of the Audubon Florida Naturalist magazine is dedicated to some of Florida’s Dykes Everett Paul Ferber most famous baby birds and the people who protect them. Hal Flowers Ann Harwood-Nuss I heard Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Director Jason Lauritsen say that Wood Reid Hughes Alan Keller Stork parents must gather 400 pounds of fish for themselves and their babies each nesting Randy LaBauve season. Once birds had nature to themselves. But with 20 million people living in all parts José Latour of Florida, birds are often pushed to the margins of existence. Charlie Margiotta Heidi McCree Steve Nellis Baby birds face many threats. Habitat loss, predators, human disturbance, invasive species, Lida Rodriguez-Taseff and water pollution, along with storms and droughts, are just some of the challenges. As Katie Sproul Scott Taylor more and more people choose Florida to live and vacation, we expect these threats to grow. Carol Colman Timmis Barbara Walker On the coasts, we recruit bird stewards to monitor and defend nesting areas. Inland, Paula Wehr Doug Young Audubon Jay Watch and EagleWatch train citizen scientists to collect important data on Florida Scrub-Jays and Bald Eagles. In the Everglades, Audubon land managers restore habitat that Wood Storks need for foraging. In Florida Bay, Audubon scientists study water Board Members Emeritus: Joe Ambrozy quality and prey fish that Roseate Spoonbills and a host of other wading birds rely on to Sandy Batchelor feed their young. In Tampa Bay, nesting islands remain safe thanks to Audubon wardens. John Elting And across Florida, Audubon staff and volunteers advocate to agency and elected officials John Flanigan Joyce King for water and land conservation. Doug Santoni Birds need our help to face these challenges. Please donate or volunteer. You can do both at the new http://fl.audubon.org. 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There are now 45 Audubon chapters in Florida! twitter.com/AudubonFL youtube.com/AudubonFL It’s a Baby Issue Eric Draper, Executive Director Audubon Florida Dear Friends, One of my favorite recent trips was taking a group of people to see a shorebird colony on a Panhandle beach - right on the edge of a parking lot. We marveled at how a few hun- dred tern parents and chicks could survive so close to human activity. But the baby birds Least Tern and chick by RJ Wiley seemed to feel safe beyond the stakes, string, and signs marking the colony borders. They seemed to know that Audubon volunteer stewards in yellow vests held back human intruders. It was such a great experience that I posted on social media sites and repeated stories about the wildlife spectacular. Weeks later, Deputy Director Julie Wraithmell told me that feral cats had eaten or disturbed every chick. The colony failed. Pictures of cats crossing the road with chicks in their mouths told of another painful loss in the long-running battle to bring back thriving bird populations to Florida’s coasts. We did not give up - are not giving up. We redoubled efforts to create strongholds for coastal wildlife so that eggs can hatch and baby birds can fledge to sustain their species. The fact is that baby birds need food and shelter from the elements and predators. Most species are specialized and will do okay in undisturbed native habitats. There are good and bad years. It is human changes to natural conditions that throw nesting success out of balance. It takes human effort to ensure the survival of baby birds. Maybe it’s the feeder in your yard, or your native plants attracting bugs and lizards. Perhaps the nearby wetland produces fish, frogs, and crayfish. It may be you providing alternatives to abandoned housecats or insisting on raccoon-proof trash bins. Some wild birds are adjusting to humans. Audubon’s EagleWatch program reports productive raptor nests in close proximity to human hustle and bustle. Yet, other birds need our active intervention. Wading birds in the Everglades are plummeting. Pythons, poor water conditions. We’re not sure. In either case, if we want storks and spoonbills to dress up the Everglades, we have to find ways to create nesting strongholds. I hope you enjoy the stories about our efforts to protect baby birds and their habitat in this spring edition of theNaturalist . You can help save Florida’s baby birds by supporting Audubon’s science-based conservation work at www.GivetoAudubonFlorida.org. Or, consider volunteering with your local Audubon chapter or citizen science program. For opportunities to get involved, please visit http://fl.audubon.org/get-involved. Thank you for all that you do for Florida’s baby birds. Sincerely, Eric Draper, Executive Director Audubon Florida Audubon Florida Spring 2016 3 A Commitment to Protecting Feathered Babies and Their Habitat Sure, baby birds are cute (albeit sometimes in that “face only a Thankfully, we can help Florida’s birds during breeding season by: mother could love” kind of way). But they are also a touchstone that brings much of Audubon’s work into sharp focus. Baby 1. Ensuring they have sufficient, healthy nesting sites.For birds make science meaningful to the public, partners, and example, Alachua Audubon Society’s efforts to erect nest decision-makers. They are also an important measure of the boxes on utility easements for Southeastern American effectiveness of our conservation actions and define the urgency Kestrels are helping this species overcome a crippling lack of our advocacy. of available of nesting cavities. It’s not enough to have adult birds survive, we need them to 2. Protecting nesting sites from disturbance. Nesting birds reproduce. The success or failure of a bird’s nesting season tells need to protect their eggs and young from predators and us a lot about the future of that species. Populations of some the elements. Coastal bird stewards chaperone nesting areas long-lived birds might take years to show declines. Monitoring to protect them from disturbance by beachgoers. bird breeding behavior helps Audubon scientists identify and 3. Removing hazards. Both Tampa and Sarasota Audubon respond to threats. Some protection strategies take years to have engage with the staff of Audubon’s Florida Coastal Island an effect. That’s why Audubon is invested in birds for the long Sanctuaries to clean rookery islands of entangling fishing haul. line every year, preparing these vulnerable sites for the next generation. Failed nesting is obvious—whether it’s Wood Stork chicks starving in the nest for lack of food or Black Skimmer chicks 4. Limiting hyper-abundant or non-native predators. snatched by opportunistic predators when parents are flushed Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary’s Dr. Shawn Clem and her by beachgoers. That impact is tangible, measurable, and galva- team are studying the arrival of exotics and other species to nizing. restored habitat, to try to better understand the role new exotic predators have on native species and their habitat. Bird conservation requires helping species meet all the require- ments of each stage of their life histories. The times in their 5. Ensuring appropriate, quality food for adults and chicks lives when they have the least margin for error are some of the alike. Besides mapping family territories for Florida Scrub- most important for our attention, like nesting season. Jays, Audubon Jay Watch spreads the important message that not only is hand-feeding Scrub-Jays illegal, but it is Think about it. Parents have to defend their territory, feed harmful to the survival of their chicks. themselves and their family, and protect their nest, chicks, and eggs from predators. And if food is scarce, parents must fly 6. Monitoring how birds react to habitat changes. With 75 longer distances in search of food for themselves and return years of data on Roseate Spoonbills and their food sources, with food for their nestlings – an enormous energy investment the Everglades Science Center team is able to identify how in breeding success. They are tied to their nesting area because birds they react to environmental changes and can describe what conditions are important for successful nesting. Woodto Storks abandon it would be to abandon their offspring. Barred Owls 4 Audubon Florida Spring 2016 Learn more at www.GivetoAudubonFlorida.org Using Audubon Science to Inform Public Policy National Audubon Society In some cases, no amount of on-the-ground fieldwork can improve the outlook for baby birds without establishing and Strategic Plan Update defending public policies that protect them and their habitats.