The Important Bird Areas of Florida - National Audubon Society

The Important Bird Areas of Florida: 2000–2002 – Pranty – 2-Jul-02 83Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge:SPECIES DATES NUMBERS COMMENTSSwallow-tailed Kite 25–27 Mar 1997 19–24 pairs 3–4% (B)Data from +Sykes et al. (1999)Multiple sites:SPECIES DATES NUMBERS COMMENTSReddish Egret summer 200030 Jul 2001>25 birds16 birds2% (N)>1% (N)Wading birds 15 Nov 2000 “several thousand” birds (N)Osprey 1999–2000 50 nests 3% (B)Bald Eagle 1998–1999 and 1999–2000 20 nests 2% (B)Short-tailed Hawk 1999–2001 ca. 25 radio-tagged birds5–7% (B)under study; 10–15pairs estimatedBlack Rail Mar–Jul 1989 8 birds (B)American Oystercatcher 15 Nov 2000 585 birds (W)Piping Plover winter 1999–2000 >6 birds 1% (W)Shorebirds 15 Nov 2000 “several thousand” birds (W)Overall diversity Sep 1998 list 277 natives2 exoticsCedar Keys and LowerSuwannee nationalwildlife refuges onlyReddish Egret data from observations by John Hintermister et al. published in Florida Field Naturalist, eagle GIScoverage provided by Julia Dodge (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission), hawk data provided byKen Meyer (Avian Research and Conservation Institute), rail data from +Runde et al. (1990), November 2001 dataprovided by Steve Nesbitt (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission), other data provided by U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service personnel or Celeste Shitama (University of Florida) and Steve Nesbitt (Florida Fish andWildlife Conservation Commission)OTHER RESOURCES: This and other IBAs protect about 120 miles (192 km) of coastline, nearly all of itcontinuous, and encompassing virtually the entire Gulf coast from the Ochlockonee River (Franklinand Wakulla counties) to south of the Pithlachascotee River (Pasco County), a distance of over 200miles (320 km). Big Bend Wildlife Management Area: ____. Cedar Keys National WildlifeRefuge: Atsena Otie Key contains the remnants of the original (1890s) town of Cedar Key, whileSeahorse Key contains a Civil War cemetery and the Cedar Key lighthouse. Lower SuwanneeNational Wildlife Refuge: Numerous Indian middens and burial mounds occur onsite; the ShellMound site is well-known. Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park: ____.THREATS: Big Bend Wildlife Management Area: ____. Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve: *offsitedevelopment, *habitat succession. Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge: cowbird brood parasitism.Hagens Cove: offsite development, overharvesting, increased human use. Lower SuwanneeNational Wildlife Refuge: none. Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park: ____.CONSERVATION ISSUES: Big Bend Wildlife Management Area: ____. Cedar Key Scrub StateReserve and adjacent private properties formerly supported a regionally significant population ofFlorida Scrub-Jays, but lack of fire management has reduced the population to very low levels (by1999, only 7 groups remained, with 6 of these on private lands). Without immediate restoration ofscrub habitats at Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve—coupled with acquisition of adjacent privatelyowned scrub—the future for this population is bleak. Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge: ____.Hagens Cove: There are few management concerns, but there is no legal protection to preventvehicles from driving into the marsh. Over-harvesting of fiddler crabs by bait dealers is a minor