SFWMD's Annual South Florida Wading Bird Report shows 2019 decrease in nests

Cheryl Smith
Treasure Coast Newspapers

Nesting conditions were not good for South Florida wading birds last year, with fewer nests than in 2018 and the previous 10-year average, according to an annual count.

The 2019 count of 37,303 nests was "comparatively disappointing" to the 2018 nesting season, which "moved the needle considerably in most measures," Audubon Florida stated in a news release about the Annual South Florida Wading Bird Report.

Early nesters — including great egrets, wood storks and roseate spoonbills — were most effected. Water levels peaked early, followed by a dry December, followed by heavy rains in January that flooded their nests, according to the South Florida Water Management District, which compiles the annual report. 

Great egret nests were down 64% over the 10-year average, and wood stork nests were down 50%. Roseate spoonbill nests were down 8% because, in part, of sea-level rise, as the state-classified threatened species depends on specific water levels to gather enough prey for their voracious chicks, an Audubon news release says.

White ibis nests, which account for half of all nests, decreased 27%.

Birds that nested after water levels ebbed in February were more successful. Snowy egrets and tri-colored herons, for example, made 22% and 5% more nests, respectively.

Susan Rudolph found this snowy egret walking along the beach near the north jetty at the Fort Pierce Inlet.

On another positive note, 42% of all wading bird nests were found in coastal areas, where scientists have been trying to restore nesting for years. That's compared to about 10% five to 10 years ago, a SFWMD news release says.

Wading Bird Report

Everglades restoration has helped nesting increase over the past 20 years, but more work still needs to be done, the SFWMD and Julie Wraithmell, Audubon Florida executive director, agreed in separate news releases.

“We cannot depend on perfectly aligned weather events for successful wading bird seasons,” Wraithmell wrote. “We need science-based restoration to remain a priority in South Florida, not only for wading birds but also to ensure clean drinking water, stable coastlines, and a thriving Everglades.”

More: Here's why white ibis invade your front yard

The 2019 decrease reflects natural, historical ups and downs and how nesting varies year to year based on the availability of prey, which is heavily influenced by rainfall in the right amounts, places and times, the SFWMD said.

The decreases are also within the three-year average targets set in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan for great egrets, wood storks and white ibis.

"In historical pre-drainage conditions, this would have been a below-average year because of natural conditions," said Mark Cook, a SFWMD wildlife ecologist, restoration scientist and lead editor of the report. "We know that our restoration projects are actively benefiting wading birds and the environment, and we expect long-term improvement as additional restoration efforts are completed.”

White Ibis nest in Water Conservation Area 3 west of Broward County. [Provided by Mark Cook, South Florida Water Management District

In particular, the proposed Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir Project, designed primarily to cut excessive Lake Okeechobee discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, would have helped remedy the dry marsh conditions in 2018, said said Steve Davis, senior ecologist at The Everglades Foundation.

The reservoir would have captured some of the lake water plaguing both coasts in the summer of 2018 and sent it south, Davis said.

Other projects to remove impediments to southern  flow, like the Tamiami Trail bridging, "will help to diminish the dramatic water level reversals exacerbated by the dumping of EAA stormwater into the central Everglades. ... We are certainly making progress with restoration, but the ecology of the system is telling us that we need to move faster.”"

Wading birds are among the indicator species scientists monitor to gauge the overall health of ecosystems.

South Florida's "heavily altered hydrology is threatening the existence of wading birds and other plants and animals whose life cycles are tightly tied to our wet and dry seasons," said Zack Jud, education and exhibits director at the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart. "A key priority of Everglades restoration is improving the timing, quantity, and quality of water reaching the River of Grass and our coastal estuaries.  What’s good for the wading birds is good for the whole ecosystem."

The SFWMD, Audubon, Florida Atlantic University and others combine annual wading bird nest survey results to measure nesting success across the Everglades.

Read the full report at sfwmd.gov or Audubon’s report summary on TCPalm.

In this Jan. 14, 2005 , file photo, a great egret sits on top of a dead tree in Florida's Everglades National Park, near South Bay, Fla., as a thunderstorm moves across the area. Everglades National Park protects an unparalleled landscape that provides important habitat for numerous rare and endangered species like the manatee,  American crocodile, and the elusive Florida panther, according to the National Parks Service.

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