The Important Bird Areas of Florida - National Audubon Society

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The Important Bird Areas of Florida: 2000–2002 – Pranty – 2-Jul-02 230FISHEATING CREEK WATERSHEDFisheating Creek FF Project, with acquired acreage known as Fisheating Creek WildlifeManagement AreaGlades and Highlands counties176,760 acres (67,344 ha), including 18,272 acres (7308 ha) acquired, and perpetual conservationeasements obtained on an additional 41,606 acres (16,642 ha)LOCATION: much of northern Glades County and a portion of southeastern Highlands County, generallyfrom the Glades/Highlands county line south to State Road 74 extending east along Fisheating Creekto Lake Okeechobee. The Fisheating Creek IBA is adjacent to the Babcock–Webb IBA to the west,and to the Lake Okeechobee IBA to the east. It is nearly contiguous with parts of the Lake WalesRidge IBA to the north.DESCRIPTION: a vast area west of Lake Okeechobee until recently mostly under a single ownership,roughly 26 miles (43 km) east to west. The State purchased the entire creek drainage in 1999 andintends to acquire perpetual conservation easements on >116,000 acres (>46,400 ha) of adjacentuplands. In 2000, an adjacent ranch in Highlands County was added to the Fisheating Creek FFProject. The Wildlife Management Area receives ____ recreationists and ____ hunters annually.OWNERSHIP: Florida Division of Wildlife (Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area) and privateowners (unacquired acreage of the Fisheating Creek FF Project, and conservation easements;monitored by the Florida Division of Wildlife)HABITATS: *longleaf pine flatwoods, *temperate hammock, *dry prairie, *cypress swamp, *riverine,pine plantation, xeric oak scrub, non-native pasture, hardwood swamp, bayhead, freshwater marsh,cattail marsh, lacustrine, artificial, ♦eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.) plantationLAND USE: *conservation, *cattle grazing, recreation, hunting, timber productionIBA CATEGORIES: significant populations of Threatened and FCREPA species; significant numbers ofraptors; and significant natural habitatsAVIAN DATA: The site is a Strategic Habitat Conservation Area for the Swallow-tailed Kite and CrestedCaracara (+Cox et al. 1994), and contains a significant population of Florida Scrub-Jays. The largestSwallow-tailed Kite roost in North America is within the publicly owned area. “Florida” GrasshopperSparrows previously occurred (and still may be present), and some areas are suitable for relocationefforts. [Is a bird list available?].Excepting the Swallow-tailed Kite roost, all these data refer only to the 41,606 acres (16,642 ha) that comprise the“Phase 1 conservation easement lands;” totals for the entire property undoubtedly are higher for most, if not all,species.SPECIES DATES NUMBERS COMMENTSSwallow-tailed Kiteused annually sincediscovery in 1986;up to 2200 birds at once(1840 was peak inup to 60% of the U.S.population (N)highest numbers inthe early 1990s2000); total useestimated at >3000birds annuallySwallow-tailed Kite 22 Apr–22 May 2000 77 birds; 25–30 nests likely 4–5% (B)Short-tailed Hawk 22 Apr–22 May 2000 4 birds; 2 probable nest sites 1% (B)Crested Caracara 1–4 May 2000 7 pairs 3% (R)“Florida” Sandhill Crane 26–27 Apr 2000 16 nests 1% (B)Red-cockaded Woodpecker 14–20 Apr 2000 3 active clusters
The Important Bird Areas of Florida: 2000–2002 – Pranty – 2-Jul-02 231OTHER RESOURCES: the Fisheating Creek Watershed also is a Strategic Habitat Conservation Area forthe Florida panther (+Cox et al. 1994), and contains large populations of three plants endemic tocentral Florida: ♦Edison’s St. John’s-wort (Hypericum edisonianum), cutthroatgrass, and ♦noddingpinweed (Lechea cernua). • Fisheating Creek is the only undammed tributary leading into LakeOkeechobee, and flows through largely natural areas all the way the Highlands County line, adistance of more than 25 miles (40 km). • At least 31 archaeological sites are known, including manyassociated with the Fort Center Site Complex of the Belle Glades culture (300–2200 YBP).THREATS: *human disturbance, *habitat succession, exotic plants, feral hogs, runoffCONSERVATION ISSUES: Fisheating Creek contains a staging area for Swallow-tailed Kites that is thelargest in the United States. Up to 2200 kites have been seen at once, and perhaps 3000 individualsuse the roost annually, which represents about 60% of the North American population. By the early1990s, the roost moved from a cypress swamp to a grove of Australian-pines; disturbance fromairboaters was thought to be the cause. • Florida Scrub-Jay habitat is mostly overgrown from longtermfire exclusion. Habitat within the acquisition area should be restored via prescribed fire as soonas possible, and some arrangement for management of scrub in the easement areas should also beattempted. • Reintroduction of “Florida” Grasshopper Sparrows into suitable (and if necessary,restored) dry prairie habitats within the FF Project should be considered. • Invasive exotic plantsmostly are limited to the Hoover Dike along Lake Okeechobee along the eastern edge of the site. •Water quality in some canals has been reduced from agricultural runoff. [what about pine andEucalyptus plantations?].It is essential that managers of the Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area prohibit airboat useof the creek from early June to early September to protect the Swallow-tailed Kite roost fromdisturbance, and perhaps airboats should be banned from the site at all times.NOMINATED BY: Bill Pranty (Audubon of Florida)REVIEWED BY: Ken Meyer (Avian Research and Conservation Institute)REFERENCES: +Cox, J., R. Kautz, M. MacLaughlin, and T. Gilbert. 1994. Closing the Gaps in Florida’sWildlife Habitat Conservation System. Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. Tallahassee,FL. • +Enge, K.M., and N.J. Douglass. 2000. Easement documentation report (Volume II: vertebratesurveys) for Fisheating Creek Ecosystem – Phase 1, Glades County, Florida. Florida Fish andWildlife Conservation Commission. Tallahassee, FL. • +Millsap, B.A. 1987. Summer concentrationof American Swallow-tailed Kites at Lake Okeechobee, Florida, with comments on post-breedingmovements. Florida Field Naturalist 15: 85–92.
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MemorandumBill Pranty, Florida IBA
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The Important Bird Areas of Florida
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THE IMPORTANTBIRD AREAS OFFLORIDA:
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