HAPPY BIRD MOTHERS DAY!
It’s a very Happy Mother’s Day for Florida's wading birds today. In fact, it’s been a very happy year so far. They are nesting in record numbers, an especially beautiful thing since they’ve been in steep decline for decades.
After more than 50 years of human encroachment, diverting and draining over half of the Everglades’ original 4,000 square miles (1.5 million acres) to make room for housing, agriculture, and other industry, robbing wading birds of wetland habitat and food sources. Their population here had been decimated.
But, since this past September, South Florida has seen more rain than it has in over 80 years. Dry wetlands have refilled with water, and with it, fish and the wading birds that eat them, have returned and kicked off a breeding bonanza, nesting across the region in record numbers.
The Everglades are North America’s most important breeding area for wading birds, such as Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Herons, and Tricolored Herons.
Water is at the center of the Everglades. In addition to Mother Nature helping with heavy rains, there has been a massive effort underway to restore this precious ecosystem.
Image: by DigitalGlobe, Inc. At the mouth of the Shark River in the southern edge of the Florida Everglades, an incoming tide from the Gulf of Mexico mixes with tannin-stained estuary water. Courtesy of National Audubon Society.
A $16 billion state and federal restoration program encompassing 18,000 square miles of Florida ecosystems is now managing several projects to increase the volume of water flowing south into the wetlands regions.
Now new giant colonies of wading birds are bringing hope that the mission is on a beautiful path to success. The system is proving to be resilient. So far, this year, White Ibis nest numbers tally 50% above average, Wood Stork nests are more than double the average, and Great Egret nests rank at 25% above average -- almost 50,000 nests in total. Each nest holds at least 2 or 3 eggs or chicks, depending on their state of development.
Wading bird populations are important indicators of the ecosystem’s overall health. And while things are looking up now in the Everglades, there is much to do to restore them. That last mega breeding year (2009) enjoyed close to 90,000 nests, in comparison.
Mark Cook, a lead scientist and avian ecologist with the South Florida Water Management District, edits the annual wading bird nesting report. He reports how amazing it is to see such a huge number of birds now all in one place. It’s exciting to see how the Everglades are bouncing back and to see what is possible when conditions are right.
Renewing the flow of water through the Everglades will not only boost nesting in current breeding areas, but could also draw more waders back to traditional sites, like Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, which lost more than 43 square miles of wetlands from 1996 to 2010 alone, according to NOAA survey.
In addition, the Picayune Strand project is rehabilitating more than 55,000 wetland acres near Corkscrew.
Between the restoration work and the record rainfall, the Everglades are now full of new mothers, new chicks, and new hope.
To help support Everglades restoration, check out The Everglades Foundation -- Jimmy Buffett is on its board. And check out The Nature Conservancy Everglades initiative, which includes the establishment of the 11,500-acre Disney Wilderness Preserve. Check out the National Parks Conservation Association. And, of course, support the National Audubon Society to support their important work.
The best time to plan your visit is during dry season (November to May) to avoid mosquitos and other bugs. It’s also the best time to see the largest variety of wading birds, with their nests and chicks, as well as other wildlife.
Read more about Beautiful Mothers all this week on BeautifulNow. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.
