Minutes: SUNCOAST SHOREBIRD PARTNERSHIP FALL 2013 MEETING

Minutes: SUNCOAST SHOREBIRD PARTNERSHIP FALL 2013 MEETING

Date: September 25, 2013

Location: CEC Spoonbill Room, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg

Time: 1:30-3:30p.m.

1. Introductions

Attendees:

Naomi Avissar, FFWCC, Shorebird Partnership Coordinator

Traci Castellon, FFWCC, Assistant Regional Biologist

Nancy Douglass, FFWCC Regional Biologist

Beth Forys, Eckerd College

John Hood, Clearwater Audubon

Judi Hopkins, St. Pete Audubon

Dave Kandz, St. Pete Audubon

Marianne Korosy, Audubon Florida

Pam Leasure, Pinellas County Environmental Lands

Natalie Leggette, City of South Pasadena

Jennifer Manis, FDEP

Keri Nelson, Sarasota County Natural Resources

Mark Rachal, Audubon Florida

Kacy Ray, American Bird Conservancy

Rosalind Rowe, FDEP

Jim Wilson, Ft. Desoto

Michelle van Deventer, FFWCC

2. Managers & others shared interesting results from the breeding season

·  Mark Rachal & Ann Paul working with Tampa Audubon on fishing line entanglement project; they have extended the bird stewards program out on piers. USACE will be raising the dike on the southern spoil island in Hillsborough Bay - they have a plan in place to protect birds during nesting season.

·  John Hood reported that Three Rooker Bar had WIPLs this year and a large LETE colony (~100 fledges!). There was also stewardship at Sand Key.

·  Jim Wilson reported that they moved all garbage cans off beach at Ft. Desoto, and within weeks there was nesting. They did not find more garbage on the beach after removing the cans, so it was win-win for everyone.

·  Pam Leasure reported on a problem with unleashed “service dogs” on beach (unmarked dog ran loose into colony, and owners said it was a service animal). Nancy Douglass said that, according to the ADA, we can legally ask “what service does this animal provide?” and that, even if they are a service animal, they can’t be off the leash. If they are off-leash, they are considered a pet.

·  Natalie Leggette said that there is nothing in nesting area at South Pasadena, and on the (slanted) roof they’ve been monitoring, they started with 3 chicks and fledged one.

·  Keri Nelson reported that a few SNPLs fledged on Lido and Siesta Key.

·  Marianne Korosy reported that 40 BLSK chicks fledged on Longboat key (colony began nesting season probably at Anna Maria and was washed out by TS Andrea).

·  Judi Hopkins reported that Saskia Janes has just completed her year-end report on bird stewarding (see attached). The reported tallied 1672 volunteer hours (not including Saskia’s time) and 2173 public contacts made during the season. At Ft. Desoto, there was 1 AMOY, 5 WIPL fledges, no nests on rafts confirmed, and 0 BLSK. On Indian Shores, there were 227 nests, 100 fledges, and the silt fencing on July 4th made a difference for the birds: they did not scatter when the fireworks went off, except where there was no fencing. The wardens showed up and their presence helped a lot.

·  Dave Kandz reported that rooftop nesting at Ulmerton was big success, though there was lots of drama this season with another rooftop (which shall remain nameless!).

·  There was nesting on Indian Key – colonial waterbirds - for the first time in years, because of raccoon and rat control by USDA. USDA will continue trapping raccoons & rats twice a year.

3. Florida Shorebird Database Update

·  Naomi Avissar provided an overview of the 2013 status of the Florida Shorebird Database (FSD), as well as 2011-2012 analysis. Monitoring effort has increased across the board, for all categories measured (number of FSD users, routes, sites reported, visits, etc.).The FSD report is available on the FSA website: http://www.flshorebirdalliance.org/Wordpress-FSA/2013/09/24/2011-2012-fsd-report/

·  Florida Shorebird Database closes October 1; then quality control review begins.

·  Database will reopen in March 2014, though data can be retrieved any time.

·  Mark Rachal asked if data are robust enough yet to use for comparison to the Imperiled Beach-Nesting Bird (IBNB) Action Plan. Naomi replied not yet, because we haven’t figured out how to reliably include roof counts, and more than half of our sites and routes are not surveyed during the count windows. But we’re moving in the right direction because the percent of routes surveyed during the count windows has doubled every year (9% in 2011  22% in 2012  38% in 2013).

·  Kacy Ray mentioned that the FSA and its monitoring effort is getting lots of recognition gulf-wide.

4. Beth Forys presentation on Ft. Desoto camera study, funded by ABC.

·  Part of Ft. Desoto is closed year-round as a sanctuary for nesting, migrating, and overwintering birds. But occasionally people go into the closed area. Beth designed experiment on rule following- wanted to see if more people complied if there was a sign warning them that they were being watched.

·  Beth analyzed 20 random hours of videotape per week during April to July. Also recorded time of day, tide height, number of people at park that day, presence of bird stewards, and presence of signs about video monitoring.

·  Four signs on each side of the closed area were installed on July 3rd, so they could compare 4th of July (signs) with Memorial Day (no signs) intrusions.

·  General linear model (SPSS) looked at variables that predicted how many people would enter closed area. Evening hours and low tides had more intruders. There were fewer intruders when bird stewards were present and more intruders when more people were at the park. Signs were the most significant variable, predicting how many people would intrude into the closed area per hour! Many fewer intruders with signs present.

·  Kacy reported that in TX, a manager experimented with putting signs up (without cameras) and noticed that the visible signs of intrusion (footprints, dog tracks) dramatically reduced. They had nesting at that location for the first time in years.

·  Jim Wilson added that, legally, if you say that you are videotaping, you must have an active camera or you are liable if there’s an injury.

·  Group discussed getting permission from condo or bar owners to post camera in front of colonies on municipal beaches. Can see if SSS can post camera behind their property to keep people from harassing colony.

·  Did not have successful nesting on rafts this year. Wood rafts not as seaworthy as aluminum rafts. May be too close to beach and too exposed to the tides. Wooden rafts didn’t hold up as well in salt water as the original aluminum platform rafts.

5. Nancy Douglass presented on beach raking permits

·  We have encountered a conflict between beach raking and BNBs. We have a solution in mind and we need your help in it.

·  We’re not advocating raking. But problem is that raking can create habitat that mimics BNB habitat and lures birds in. Without active management, we’ll lose birds in these areas.

·  If you want to rake the area on your property and there are no dunes or vegetation, it’s an easy permit from a DEP field staff person – no cost and no mitigation required. If there are dunes or vegetation, you have to get an administrative permit from FDEP Tallahassee which costs $500 and requires mitigation.

·  As you can see from a before/after picture of a posted area in Lee Co., at Little Estero CWA, posting can lead to vegetation overgrowth and creates disincentive for landowners to cooperate with FWC and post BNB nesting areas.

·  FWC & DEP have teamed up to allow property owners to trade in their old permits for one that allows raking after the nesting season in an area that was posted. Permit goes through DEP’s Tallahassee office (field DEP staff might not be aware of this new agreement). The new permit will be no-cost and have no mitigation requirements.

·  We are planting the seed- if you know of places where birds are likely to return and vegetation growth is an issue, we’d like to know in advance so we can coordinate.

·  Early next year or now, please talk to property owners, or ask for help if you’re not comfortable doing so. As soon as posting goes up, ask for Blair’s help to get landowner’s DEP permit swapped out.

·  Blair is working with counties (like Sarasota) that have comp plan restrictions about removing native vegetation.

6. Next meeting?

·  We will send out doodle poll for next SSP meeting (looking at week of March 3rd).