ÃÛèÖAPP

Panhandle

In the eastern Panhandle, American Oystercatchers had a successful season, fledging chicks from three remote islands. At Tyndall Air Force Base, monitored in partnership with the FWC, nine Snowy Plover and 27 Wilson's Plover chicks left the beach. Farther west, the Navarre Beach colony saw 120 Least Tern and 50 Black Skimmer chicks successfully fledge. Meanwhile, Panhandle rooftops hosted Least Terns on ten sites—an important contribution to the population that should not be overlooked.

Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries

Unfortunately, sites monitored by Sanctuaries staff only recorded around 10,300 nesting pairs of wading birds, a significant downturn from previous years. Additionally, Wood Stork colonies across the region were down. ÃÛèÖAPP staff continue to investigate possible causes.

Northeast Florida

Beach-nesting birds at Huguenot Memorial Park had a good season, producing more than 1,000 new Royal Terns, thousands of Laughing Gulls, 100-plus Brown Pelicans, and a few dozen Sandwich Terns. Amelia Island was more productive than usual, thanks to some additional sand and great stewarding, with three dozen Least Terns fledging as well as some Wilson’s Plovers. At Anastasia State Park, where the beach was somewhat diminished, Least Terns still fledged more than 100 chicks, plus staff recorded 12 successful nests by Black Skimmers and Wilson’s Plovers. Fort Matanzas had their largest colony in years, fledging around 50 Least Terns. Summer Haven, a dynamic site that is filling in again with new sand, had at least 40 Least Terns fledge.

Tampa Bay

The Least Tern colony on South Lido Key produced 140 fledged chicks. Additionally, Fort De Soto Park continues to be a productive nesting site: Staff recorded multiple Wilson’s Plover fledges, one Snowy Plover fledge, and three American Oystercatcher fledges from nests at the park. Staff are also seeing a rise in nesting attempts by Snowy Plovers, which speaks to the successful habitat management at the park. Black Skimmer colonies (four in Pinellas and Sarasota counties) produced a total of 665 fledged chicks

It was another busy rooftop season in the Tampa Bay region, with 22 active rooftops in Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough, and Sarasota counties. Staff recorded seven American Oystercatcher pairs with seven fledged chicks, three Black Skimmer colonies, 12 Least Tern colonies, and five Killdeer pairs.

Southwest Florida

Even though Hurricane Debby caused significant losses of nests and chicks at Second Chance Critical Wildlife Area, 600 Black Skimmers fledged 150 chicks. Least Terns fledged 100 chicks from 168 nests—60 more than last year—before the colony overwashed during Debby. At nearby Caxambas Pass Critical Wildlife Area, a successful Black Skimmer colony produced 56 fledged chicks for the first time in nearly seven years. Carlos Pointe Beach supported a colony with 1,333 adult Black Skimmers and 418 adult Least Terns, resulting in 231 Black Skimmer and 200 Least Tern fledglings despite losses caused by storm surge from Tropical Storm Debby. Snowy Plovers only fledged six chicks across the region. Wilson’s Plovers continued to do well, with 11 chicks fledged on Fort Myers Beach and 19 fledged from various Collier County sites.

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