“For Counting Terns and Building Community”

St. Johns County Audubon Society Is Presented
Audubon of Florida’s 2007 Best Chapter Conservation Project Award

Ned Shuler, Coordinator and SJCAS Board Member: 

In December of 2006, the SJCAS board voted to begin a conservation and education program called the Least Tern  Project.  Least Terns are listed as “threatened” in Florida.  St. Johns County has more nesting Least Terns than any other county on Florida’s east coast.  In January 2007, Audubon of Florida awarded our chapter a $700 grant to get started.  Below are the goals and current status of the Least Tern Project.   

Goals:  

• - To monitor and protect nesting Least Terns and their habitats in St. Johns County

• - To educate our membership and the general public about nesting shorebirds and their plight

• - To energize and motivate our members through involvement in project activities

• - To coordinate our efforts with county, state, and federal agencies doing shorebird monitoring

• - To enter data collected by our volunteers into the statewide FWC database

• - To form a Beach Nesting Bird (BNB) Working Group to standardize and improve future efforts

Monitoring:

Ned and a large group of volunteers, along with agency personnel responsible for each site, have been regularly checking and collecting data at the sites listed below.  This is a status summary of each site as of June 20, 2007. 

Matanzas Inlet:

Last summer the east side of the Matanzas bridge was very productive.  On May 5 of this summer, there were already over 100 tern nests there.  Then sub-tropical storm Andrea came along.  The whole area was washed over and all nests were lost.  We’re not sure if the birds moved up to Anastasia State Park or are possibly using a nearby dredge spoil area.  They typically re-nest after an early failure, and many Least Terns can be seen feeding and resting around the Inlet.  If anyone knows of another nearby nesting site, please let us know.

July 26, 2007 update: 

Terns began re-nesting at Matanzas about July 2, with 21 nests. It has been a struggle but they seem to be holding their own.  On July 22, 3 nests (2 chicks and 5 flight able juveniles) were reported.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Anastasia State Park:

So far, this has been the most productive nesting area of the year.  Two colonies are currently active, the south colony between the park and St. Augustine Beach, and the north colony a good ways up the beach away from most park visitors.  On June 18 there were 123 nests with 18 chicks at the north colony.  Some pre-nesting behavior was also noted.  We were very pleased to find 11 adult Wilson’s Plovers and 8 fuzzy long-legged chicks.  The nests are very hard to find and the chicks are nearly invisible in the sand, but that many Wilson’s was encouraging. 

On the south beach numbers were down from around 100 nests to only 43.  However, 17 chicks were counted and adults were very mobile trying to keep up with the little ones.  Also, all the birds were gathering around clumps of vegetation for shade.  Many others were resting and feeding near the water, so an accurate count was difficult.  People have been very good about avoiding this colony, even the Beach Patrol who had to watch for a nest with chicks between the ruts in their patrol road.

July 26, 2007 update:

The state park has been the success story for this year. The North Colony has had some bumpy spots; however, it has held its own. The big problem they faced was high tides and strong winds from storms. The last reports showed 20 flight able juveniles.  However, when all the data is in we should see an increase in that number.   

The South Colony fared extremely well.  This could be due to its location on top of the beach re-nourishment area. Due to the high berm, people did not frequent the area. There was a high of 75 flight able juveniles reported.

Porpoise Point: 

On Monday, June 18, our volunteers and Tara Dodson were putting back up the chick fencing which had washed away only two days after we put it up the first time.  Those sporting blisters from the first fence included 5 of our volunteers, 2 FWC staff, and 3 county staff.  There was nearly a quarter of a mile of fencing!  Before the washout, about 60 nests were present.  Now there are only about 25, but many chicks are running around the enclosure and in the dunes.  Thanks to everyone.  And here’s some good news.  We saw several pre-nesting pairs ready for a second try. 

July 26, 2007 update:

This colony never rebounded.  8 chicks were seen after the washout. No juveniles were reported. However, a lot was learned from the experience.

Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR: 

The Guana colony was very small which made it susceptible to predators. Yet we were able to approach some of the rental companies concerning the need to protect BNBs.  Tara was able to distribute brochures to be placed in the rental units.  3 nest and 3 chicks were the best the colony could produce. 

July 26, 2007 update:

There were never any flight able juveniles seen. Maybe we can start early with enlisting help from landowners and rental agents.

Whitney Lab Rooftop Colony:

Well, technically Whitney Lab at Marineland is a few meters into Flagler County, but we’ve been working with Lynn Milstead to watch “her” rooftop birds and to enter the data.  The most recent count was 27 nests and 4 chicks, but this roof has so many different levels and additions that it’s really hard to count.  We felt that more chicks were hidden in the shade behind the various structures on the roof.  As in past years, Lynn will ascend a ladder on the low side to return wayward chicks to the roof.  We won’t need our “Chick-a-Boom” after all.

July 26, 2007 update:

This turned out to be the same old story it has been for the last couple of years.  Due to the size, we think predators and weather took their toll. This was a thriving colony at one time. It seems it never rebounded from a fireworks show a few years back.  On a good note, they might be the same ones that re-nested at Matanzas. The time and numbers were right.

Biggest Concerns:

1.  What happened to all the other rooftop colonies?  None instead of 7 or 8 roofs has been located in St. Johns County this year.  Thanks to those volunteers who keep checking past sites.  Alex Kropp says that it’s important to record that data also.  The birds will periodically change roofs, roofs are sometimes resurfaced with a less suitable cover, and the colony may move as far as 2 miles inland if a water source is nearby.  Are we just missing them?  Please let us know if you see terns anywhere on a roof. 

2.  Fourth of July!  Need I say more?  We ask our members to do what they can to protect nesting shorebirds during the week of the Fourth. Telling folks about the birds is fine.  However, remember to immediately disengage from anyone who appears inebriated or hostile.  Never confront them.  Let the authorities handle it.

Thanks to all our volunteers!

Some have more time to help than others, but they have all done what they were able to do.  We know that these wonderful people will continue to make great contributions to our SJCAS nesting bird projects as they evolve over the next several years.  These are the wonderful grassroots people who make an Audubon chapter relevant.  

Volunteers: 

Ned Shuler, Diane Reed, Linda Melching, Peggy Cook, Fran Preston, Margaret Carver, Glenda Kelsey, Teddy Shuler, Ali Fulcher, Stephanie Kruger, Andrew Thornton, Charles VanderKolk, Joanna VanderKolk, Chris Gilman, Veronica Peterson, Janet Koehler, Sarah Stanberry 

Our Agency Partners: 

St. Johns County:  Tara Dodson, Habitat Conservation Plan Coordinator; Billy Zeits, education; Kaiman Triplett, intern

State Parks:  Jason DePue, regional biologist;  Shelley Young, Anastasia State Park

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission:  Alex Kropp, Sarah Johnson, James Gragg

GTMNERR: Rachel Endicott

National Park Service at Fort Matanzas: Andrew Rich

Whitney Lab: Lynn Milstead    

For further information on the project and/or to volunteer contact Ned Shuler at 904-819-5860