Bird Stewarding and Outreach

Summer weekends and holidays can be disastrous for nesting shorebirds and seabirds since the level of disturbance from people, pets, and vehicles is often higher than usual.  In these situations, signs posted around the nests may not be enough to fully protect the sites.  This is where bird stewards come in.

Bird stewards carry out two important tasks while out on the beaches: they minimize disturbance at posted nesting sites, and educate others about beach-nesting birds.  We never know exactly where and when bird stewards will be needed until the birds have started nesting.  After the nests and colonies are located, bird stewards begin their watches.

To volunteer as a bird steward this season, please check this map to see if there is a steward program near you.  If so, please call or email the program contact to get involved.  If there is not a bird steward program near you please contact us about starting one.  In addition to stewards, land managers and private citizens can also do a lot to educate others about beach-nesting birds.  We have outreach materials to help you get the message out to beach drivers, photographers, and pedestrians on the beach.

Posting Nest Sites

“Posting” means to install a symbolic fence of signs and twine or rope around a nest or colony.  Posting is often the best tool to protect beach-nesting birds from human disturbance on popular beaches and islands.  “Pre-posting” a section of the beach to give the birds an undisturbed place to initiate nesting is also a great tool, especially if you want to attract birds to a protected spot before they establish nests.

If you find a shorebird nest or seabird colony that has not yet been posted, please notify the local land manager or your FWC regional shorebird contact immediately so that it can be posted.  Parks usually have their own preferred signs and posting materials, but if not (or if the nest is on private property), supplies and assistance can be requested by contacting your FWC regional shorebird biologist. Check out our sign selection – many can be printed off and laminated (remember to obtain landowner’s permission to post on private property).

Detailed posting instructions are available on the FSA website.

Breeding Bird Surveys and Training

Florida’s official shorebird monitoring program begins this month, with the first count window from March 18th – 24th.  Everything you need to know to participate in the monitoring program can be found on the Florida Shorebird Database (FSD).

The website’s INSTRUCTIONS tab details what the monitoring program involves.  The RESOURCES page contains videos on data entry and the Breeding Bird Protocol, which explains the monitoring process and includes data sheets.

All volunteers are encouraged to register for a training webinar.  The March 7th webinar is for new volunteers who plan to survey a specific route (usually along the beach). The March 8th webinar is for returning volunteers and is a brief refresher on how to survey routes. The March 9th webinar is for volunteers who plan to monitor rooftops.

Register online by March 6th.  All webinars are from 1-2pm Eastern.  

Webinar details will be emailed to registered participants on March 6th. 

Rooftop Monitoring and Outreach

Many seabirds and shorebirds nest on gravel rooftops in Florida, making rooftop monitoring and outreach important components of our work.  There are hundreds of rooftops throughout the state where seabirds have historically nested, and we need your help monitoring them.  If you are willing to check on a nearby rooftop, there are many resources to support you.

To get started, please see our list of historic rooftops.  If the rooftop is still suitable for nesting (the roof is still gravel), it should be checked at least once during each count window this season.  Complete rooftop monitoring instructions and data sheets can be found on pages 12-14 of the Breeding Bird Protocol.

If a historic rooftop is no longer suitable for nesting (the building was torn down or re-roofed), please let us know at FLShorebirdDatabase@myfwc.com.

If you see shorebirds or seabirds flying to or from a rooftop, the birds are likely nesting on that roof. It is important to talk to the property owners or managers, to help make them aware of the protected species nesting on their roof.  The building’s residents or employees can alert you if there are falling chicks or other issues, so it’s important to talk to them early in the season and leave a phone number they can call.  We have signs, letters, postcards, and other Rooftop Resources to help you with outreach.

At rooftops where birds nest every year, there may be things you can do to prepare for the upcoming season.  First, please remind the property owner to schedule rooftop repairs or air conditioning maintenance the month before the birds arrive.  Also, some partnerships are “chick-proofing” rooftops, so please contact your local partnership to see if they need help.

 If you see chicks falling off the roof, they should be returned to the rooftop as soon as possible.  Please consult the Chick-Checking Manual for further instructions.

One of the many bonuses of surveying and monitoring Florida's migrant and winter-resident birds is discovering banded specimens. Such birds can provide rare and keen insight into their origin, potential migratory routes, favored winter habitats and helps researchers monitor annual survival. This season, our gulf coast field work in Cedar Key has produced sightings of banded: American Oystercatchers, Red Knots, Black Skimmers, Piping Plovers, Wilson's Plover and a surprise Snowy Plover.

Surprising, not because the Snowy Plover was banded, but the location of its origin. Many of Florida's Snowy Plover breeding population have been banded for many years, consequently resightings of native plovers are not uncommon along gulf coast beaches.  When first encountered in association with multiple-banded Piping Plovers at a coastal site near Cedar Key on Oct. 31, 2017, we assumed the bird was of a research cohort within the state. However, after sharing images of the bird with Florida's leading plover researchers, we learned that the band combination was inconsistent with known schemes.

FWC's Raya Pruner (formerly DEP) possessed much insight into Snowy Plover research elsewhere in the country and she suggested we consult Dr. Warren Conway at Texas Tech. After months of waiting in anticipation and with assistance from the USGS Bird Banding Lab, on Jan. 30, 2018 Dr. Conway responded and the lingering mystery was solved.

The now, winter-resident, Snowy Plover was banded as an adult female on June 8, 2017 at a nest site in Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma approximately 1,013 miles distant from Cedar Key! Although very few, non-native, Snowy Plover have been recorded in Florida, we should not be surprised at this bird's southern plain's origin. Several Great Plain's Piping Plover have been recorded near Cedar Key (one currently present) and doubtless many other wintering shorebirds originate there.  However, this is only the second confirmed observation of a banded Snowy Plover migrating from Oklahoma to Florida, highlighting the connectivity of the interior and coastal populations.

Since its initial resighting, the banded Snowy Plover has occupied the same small sites near Cedar Key demonstrating the typical fidelity of wintering shorebirds. Several other unbanded Snowy Plover are also present, but their origin remains unknown. We will monitor the bird into spring to determine a departure date and wait until next fall to see if it returns to its favored haunts.    

For information on where to report banded shorebirds, use the following website http://flshorebirdalliance.org/resources/banded-birds.aspx.  Any other banded bird species can be reported to USGS Bird Banding Lab https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/bblretrv/index.cfm.   Band resights provide crucial information for researchers on movement patterns and survival.  In some situations, observations during the winter months by citizens scientists provide the only available information.

Want to get involved?

Email shorebird@MyFWC.com for more information about your local partnership, and to share important shorebird stories and photos.

Join the flock on social media: Florida Shorebird Alliance Facebook Group