Page 64 - April 2017 Life In Naplles Magazine

ROOKERY BAY

Seeing Shorebirds:

From Peeps to White Pelicans

R ookery Bay National Estuarine Research

Reserve was designated in 1978 and named
for the bay where thousands of wading
birds roost and nest on certain mangrove
islands, and a lot of other birds also rely on this
area for survival. Reserve staff and volunteers keep
tabs on these bird populations as an indicator of
estuarine health.
I recently had the pleasure of joining our
shorebird monitoring intern Alli, volunteer captain
Larry and another staff member on the monthly
shorebird survey. We got an early start from the
Ten Thousand Islands field station, near Goodland,
so that we could take advantage of the tide and get
back by lunch.
Our first destination was the Second Chance
Critical Wildlife Area just south of Cape Romano,
this is one of the sand bars in our area that is
posted and closed every spring and summer to
afford thousands of beach-nesting birds the best
opportunity to reproduce with the least amount of
disturbance from human activity. These areas are
also important for wintering shorebirds.
High tide is the best time to get close to concentrated flocks on patches of dry sand.
these shallow shoals, and it is also the best time Alli set up her scope to get a closer look at the birds on the other side of
to count birds. Thousands of shorebirds feed on the sand bar. While we kept a safe distance from the resting flocks, we were
sand bars and mudflats exposed at low tide, but at greeted by a pair of Wilson’s plovers whose warning calls indicated that we were
high tide when their buffet is closed, they rest in entering their territory. These year-round residents would soon be laying eggs in
shallow scrapes they make in the sand.
Nearby, a small, mixed flock was feeding in a frenzy, running in and out
as the tide lapped the shore. Sanderlings and ruddy turnstones were gobbling
up what may have been a cache of horseshoe crab eggs, an important energy
source for migrating birds all along the eastern seaboard and Gulf of Mexico.
Sanderlings and ruddy turnstones both spend winters here, but will soon be
departing for their summer breeding grounds in the high arctic-more than 3,000
miles away!
As Alli recorded her sightings she was excited to see some birds with colored
bands and flags on their legs. The high-powered scope enables her to read the
unique letter and number combination that is specific to each bird in a research
study. She will later track down details about these birds, such as when and
where they were banded, and her report about their current location will help

64 Life in Naples | April 2017