Final Performance Report: Consolidated Breeding Records for Colonial Shorebirds in Florida from 1973-1997

Sprandel, Gary

This project reviews data from the Florida Committee on Rare and Endangered Plants and Animals, the Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Colonial Bird Register, reports to the Florida Field Naturalist, and Audubon Field Notes to consolidate colonial shorebird (primarily Laridae) breeding records from 1973 to 1997 into the Wildlife Observation System (WOS) of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Six hundred forty-six geographically unique colony sites were found; 238 of these were not previously recorded in WOS. Additionally, 2,569 occurrences (of a species breeding in a colony at a given time) were recorded, of which 1,679 were not already recorded in WOS. Man-made or altered sites included 271 building roofs, 41 causeways, and l 00 spoil islands. Roofs were most commonly used by least terns (262 roofs) followed by black skimmers (38 roofs). These data provide a baseline for future surveys at certain colonies or regions, but do not provide a comprehensive statewide view. A total of 280 hours was spent on the 141 citations, and averaged 6 new breeding records per hour. Gaps in our knowledge of breeding shorebirds include inland nesting colonies, roof nesting in southwest Florida, and current breeding records in northeast and north-central Florida. I recommend continued recording of breeding records from the Florida Field Naturalist and from reports specific to nesting shorebirds. Future colony surveys should record when no nesting was observed and use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver to help eliminate ambiguity between historical and new sites.