When last checked, the tagged manatees were within five miles of the base, although two weeks before they were spread from St. Augustine, Fla., to St. Simons Island, with one venturing up the Satilla River. Each appeared healthy and was behaving normally, according to DNR wildlife biologist Clay George.

Two were socializing with eight other manatees, and two were foraging with separate groups of manatees. “Altogether,” George writes, “we observed 20 manatees in an area 10 miles from north to south.”

This planned multi-year project marks the first time manatees have been tracked in Georgia using GPS. 

If you see a tagged manatee

Call DNR at 1-800-2-SAVE-ME (800-272-8363). Note the time, date, location, tag color and whether other manatees are present. Do not chase, touch or otherwise harass the manatee, or touch the tag (which floats on the surface behind the animal). Manatees are protected by federal and state law.

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Of Georgia’s breeding populations, the largest is along a transmission line reaching west from Pierce County, through Tifton to Georgia Power Co.’s Plant Mitchell near Albany. Georgia Southern University research showed that hollow cross-arms on the power poles provide critical nest sites (“Power in towers for kestrels,” January-February 2008). However, the hollow cross-arms are gradually being replaced as they rust with solid ones. 

In response, for almost 10 years Georgia Power has put up a nest box each time one of the cross-arms is replaced, said Jim Candler, company environmental affairs supervisor. “As these things wear out, we agreed it was important enough for us to figure out how not to eliminate that (nesting) habitat.”

Some 30 boxes have been added. And while nest boxes (example at left) are more vulnerable to predators than a cross-arm far above the ground, DNR Nongame Conservation Section surveys marked an average 17 percent annual increase in the Tifton line population, and an estimated 302 nesting pairs in 2014. 

DNR senior wildlife biologist Nathan Klaus is interested in applying survey data to fine-tune where boxes are placed. “Using nest box and helicopter surveys to develop models, we’ve almost tripled our rate of box use” in Fall Line sandhills populations of southeastern kestrels, Klaus said.

He’s also hopeful that a proposed nest box program, coupled with habitat restoration in the region, could help save a dwindling population of kestrels that is down to about 25 breeding pairs along a Macon-Columbus transmission line owned by another company.

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SWAP is …

• A statewide strategy to conserve populations of native wildlife species and the natural habitats they need before they become rarer and more costly to conserve or restore.
• Created and put into practice by more than 100 conservation partners and stakeholders, including wildlife agencies and organizations, academic institutions, companies, and private landowners.
• A wide-ranging effort involving species and habitats, varying from golden-winged warblers and gopher tortoises to Georgia asters and longleaf pine savannas.
• Required by Congress for state wildlife agencies to receive State Wildlife Grants, the main federal funding source for states to conserve nongame wildlife.
• Due a federally mandated review to include new data and reflect changing conditions at least every 10 years. (Georgia developed its initial SWAP in 2005.)

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Some stranded sea turtles recover after being rescued; and, unfortunately, some don't. Nongame Conservation Section and Georgia Sea Turtle Center staff carried this loggerhead found about a week ago at Little Cumberland Island to the center on Jekyll Island. But, sick and emaciated, the turtle died two nights later. Georgia’s Marine Turtle Stranding Network works to recover, document and rescue stranded turtles. Strandings are the primary index for the myriad threats marine turtles face in coastal waters. Stranding updates.

Bass anglers photographed an immature brown pelican recently on the Little River Arm of Clarks Hill Lake (J. Strom Thurmond). Though common on the coast, brown pelicans are seldom seen that far inland in Georgia, according to DNR wildlife biologist Todd Schneider.

Areas of Pelican Spit and St. Simons Island’s East Beach used by nesting seabird colonies have been roped off, part of DNR efforts to monitor and conserve beach-nesting birds. Nongame Conservation Section staff have also banded more than 19 American oystercatcher chicks so far this season on Ossabaw Island, Pelican Spit and Little Egg Island and Ogeechee bars. Remember to share the beach this summer!

The New Guinea flatworm, a highly invasive species, has made its way to Florida. A recent report says the voracious worms that grow up to 2.5 inches long and devour snails were found at several sites in Miami-Dade County, posing a threat to native invertebrates.