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Tag: Anna Maria Island birds

AMI Christmas Bird Count reveals some surprises

AMI Christmas Bird Count reveals some surprises

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Birds, Featured, Outdoors.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The 125th Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count on Anna Maria Island was completed on Dec. 29 and counters found a few surprises.

“We were interested in what impact the hurricanes would have on this year’s numbers, but we actually logged more species than last year,” counter Bill Pelletier wrote in an email to The Sun.

Counters viewed 54 species of birds on the north end of the Island, including a new addition – a wild turkey.

“We had an unexpected addition of a wild turkey on the island,” Pelletier wrote. “Kitty (counter Kitty O’Neil) found it back in April and it is still around. This is the only one ever reported out here, in the wild.”

Pelletier wrote that one of a pair of nesting bald eagles didn’t make it through the storms.

“The other eagle is still around and advertising for a mate,” he wrote.

Counters recorded sighting 655 individual birds. The highest count of any species was 71 brown pelicans. Fourteen osprey were counted at the north end of the Island.

The count occurred in the Ft. DeSoto circle, a 15-mile diameter circle encompassing the north end of Anna Maria Island and Passage Key. In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt established Passage Key National Wildlife Refuge to preserve nesting colonies of native seabirds and wading birds.

While the final numbers haven’t been tallied for the region, William Kaempfer said about half of the count’s total was found on Anna Maria Island.

“That included three species not seen across the channel in the Ft. DeSoto peninsula – brown-headed cowbird, gray catbird and tufted titmouse,” Kaempfer wrote.

The Audubon Christmas Bird Count has a long history. On Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, an officer in the newly-created Audubon Society, proposed a “Christmas Bird Census” that would count birds during the holidays rather than hunt them. The bird count is now held in locations throughout North America.

“The data collected by observers over the past century allow Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, wildlife agencies and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. When combined with other surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey, it provides a picture of how the continent’s bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years,” according to Audubon.org. “The long term perspective is vital for conservationists. It informs strategies to protect birds and their habitat, and helps identify environmental issues with implications for people as well.”

In addition to Pelletier, O’Neil and Kaempfer, Tom Bisko participated in the bird count.

First least tern chick takes flight

First least tern chick takes flight

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Birds, Outdoors.

BRADENTON BEACH – At a colony of 45 least terns, eight chicks vary in ages from one to four weeks and the oldest chicks are gaining their flight feathers and practicing flying.

On July 8, shorebird monitor Kathy Doddridge witnessed the first chick taking several solo flights over the Gulf of Mexico.

According to a release from Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, the remaining chicks are extremely mobile and can be seen using the “Chick Crossing” signs as shade.

“Their tiny footprints indicate they are moving outside the enclosure and even down to the water line,” according to the release. “Beachgoers are asked to watch for chicks that may decide to explore outside the posted area. Do not pick them up and move them. Allow the least tern adults to call the chicks back into the enclosure.”

The colony has 22 nests and three birds are sitting on eggs. Those eggs are expected to hatch by the end of July.

Chicks are using both washed-up seaweed and chick huts as shelter. The chick huts also protect the chicks from predators such as fish crows and laughing gulls. With assistance from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), fish crow effigies were installed inside the enclosure to deter crows from stealing eggs from the remaining nests.

Members of Turtle Watch and the Manatee County Audubon Society volunteered as beach stewards over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. They educated hundreds of visitors and residents about the importance of protecting these threatened shorebirds.

Loggerhead, least tern nests weather heavy rains

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Birds, Outdoors.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Both loggerhead sea turtle and least tern nests fared well during last week’s heavy rains, according to Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring.

“The storm was pretty harsh but most of our sea turtle nests survived and are still incubating for a good hatch,” according to a June 14 email from Turtle Watch.

Turtle eggs in nests that are washed over by the Gulf of Mexico for long periods can drown.

Loggerhead sea turtles are a federally threatened species. Least terns are a threatened species in Florida.

A colony of nesting least terns on Bradenton Beach is thriving, with the first chick hatching on June 14.

Turtle Watch officials offer the following reminders to beachgoers:

• Keep your distance. If birds become agitated or leave their nests, you are too close. A general rule is to stay at least 300 feet away from a nest. When birds are chased or disturbed they use energy they need to nest and care for their young.

• Respect and avoid posted areas.

• Pets are not allowed on Anna Maria Island beaches.

• Keep the beach clean and do not feed wildlife as food scraps attract predators such as raccoons and crows.

• If you see people disturbing nesting birds, gently remind them how their actions may hurt birds’ survival. If they continue to disturb nesting birds, please call and report their activities to FWC’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).