Wading Bird Summer: Monitoring Nesting Efforts in Florida Bay

As summer wading-bird nesting winds down in Florida Bay, so does a long, continuous field season for Audubon’s Everglades Research Station (AERS) staff. Starting in November with the first nests made by Roseate Spoonbills and Reddish Egrets, nesting season peaks in summer for other wading bird species. At the end of July, our team records their final counts and begins analysis of nesting efforts by spoonbills as well as the four priority wading bird species in the Egretta genus that are native to Florida: Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor), Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea), Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens), and Snowy Egret (Egretta thula).

Why count nests?

Florida’s iconic wading birds are key indicators of the Everglades’ overall health. Annual surveys of their populations reveal how the ecosystem responds to weather patterns and management practices each year, while long-term trends highlight progress in restoration efforts, the impacts of climate change, and the Everglades’ resilience. If birds are successful in their nesting efforts, it means that water conditions are sufficient to support the fish and other prey they rely on to raise their young.

How and why is this work done?

Over the course of the season, the AERS bird team travels by boat to two nesting sites on the mainland and 73 different islands in Florida Bay where their priority wading birds are known to nest. This year, they recorded waterbird nesting activity, meaning they can see incubating adults, eggs, or chicks, at 55 of those sites.

They carefully document the locations of all Reddish Egret and Roseate Spoonbill nests and return as often as possible to track their progress.  The team also counts any nests they see occupied by other water birds, including Double-crested Cormorant, Osprey, Bald Eagle, and Brown Pelican, to name a few.

“Each summer, we focus our monitoring efforts on nest counts for these birds as part of a multi-year grant to examine nesting trends in Florida Bay,” says Shauna Sayers, a wading bird research specialist. By establishing a baseline, or average annual nest counts over time, subsequent annual counts enable staff to identify and analyze any population increases or decreases for species nesting in particular locations.

What did they learn?

Between May and July, the team monitored 1,819 nests, most of them (1,269) made by Tricolored Herons. Of the other priority birds, Snowy Egret was the next most numerous with 472 nests, followed by 45 Reddish Egret nests and 33 Little Blue Heron nests. In total, they observed 18 different species with nests. 

Why is this important?

Accessing mangrove islands and finding nests is not easy. Luckily, the crew was made up of dedicated individuals, including Research Associate Kaycee Doherty, Ecologist Suzy Roebling, Hydrologist Allie Mallouk, and Research Associate Michelle Carranza, and had plenty of support from Senior Biologist Kaliegh Schlender and AERS Director Bryant Dossman.

For nearly three decades, Audubon Florida, in partnership with the South Florida Water Management District and others, has conducted surveys across South Florida and produced annual reports to track wading bird populations. 

In addition to contributing critical data, nest counts in Florida Bay enable Audubon scientists to see how our data align with regional patterns and provide the data needed to call attention to any aberrant trends.

Audubon follows birds to a better future for people and the planet. We work to protect birds because we know that the things birds rely on—healthy habitats, clean air, abundant fresh water, resilient coastlines—are the same things that people and other wildlife need to thrive. Birds are symbols and sentinels to measure our success, and they inspire us to work collaboratively and expansively throughout the hemisphere. In simplest terms, “what’s good for birds is good for the Earth.”