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 88FORT GEORGE AND TALBOT ISLANDSBig Talbot Island State Park (1592 acres; 636 ha), Fort George Island (1000 acres; 400 ha), and LittleTalbot Island State Park (2633 acres; 1052 ha)Duval County5225 acres (2090 ha)LOCATION: along the Atlantic Ocean in northeastern Duval County, between the Nassau River and St.Johns River. Contiguous with the Duval and Nassau Tidal Marshes IBA to the west, the HuguenotPark–Nassau Sound IBA to the north and south, and part of the Northern Atlantic Migrant StopoverIBA to the east.DESCRIPTION: Big Talbot Island State Park ____. The Park receives ____ visitors annually. FortGeorge Island consists of Fort George Island Cultural State Park (620 acres; 248 ha), andKingsley Plantation (20 acres; 8 ha), and some private residences. The two publicly owned sitesreceive 85,000 recreationists annually. Little Talbot Island State Park is a barrier island betweenNassau Sound and the St. Johns River, about 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and 5 miles (8 km) long. Exceptfor State Road A1A, which bisects the island, most habitats are largely undisturbed. The State Parkreceives 100,000 recreationists annually. [Is Long Island a part of either state park?]OWNERSHIP: U.S. National Park Service (Kingsley Plantation), Florida Division of Recreation and Parks(Big Talbot Island State Park, Fort George Island Cultural State Park, and Little Talbot Island StatePark).HABITATS: Big Talbot Island State Park ____. Fort George Island: *temperate hammock, *maritimehammock, pine plantation, sawgrass marsh, riverine, estuarine. Little Talbot Island State Park:*xeric oak scrub, *coastal strand, temperate hammock, sawgrass marsh, riverine, estuarine, artificial.LAND USE: Big Talbot Island State Park ____. Fort George Island: *conservation, *recreation. LittleTalbot Island State Park: *conservation, *recreation.IBA CATEGORIES: Big Talbot Island State Park ____. Fort George Island: significant populations ofWatch List species; and significant natural habitats. Little Talbot Island State Park: significantpopulations of Threatened and Watch List species; and significant natural habitats.AVIAN DATA: Big Talbot and Little Talbot islands support significant populations of breeding andwintering shorebirds and larids. All three islands support significant breeding populations of PaintedBuntings. Overall diversity is ____ species. [Are bird lists available for any site?]Fort George Island:SPECIES DATES NUMBERS COMMENTSPainted Bunting 19972000May 200058 banded61 banded78 singing males(B)(B)(B)Banding data provided by Paul Sykes (U.S. Geological Survey), other data provided by Roger Clark (U.S. NationalPark Service)Little Talbot Island State Park:SPECIES DATES NUMBERS COMMENTSPiping Plover Jan–Feb 2001 26 birds 5% (W)Painted Bunting 2000 >100 birds banded (B)Plover data provided by Roger Clark (U.S. National Park Service) and bunting data provided by Paul Sykes (U.S.Geological Survey)
The Important Bird Areas of Florida: 2000–2002 – Pranty – 2-Jul-02 89OTHER RESOURCES: Big Talbot Island State Park ____. About 70% of Fort George Island consistsof >100-year old maritime hammock. • The cultural history of the island is outstanding. Shellmiddens created by the Timucuan Indians and their predecessors date back as far as 7000 YBP. Onemidden, the Shell Ring, is thought to have been an important center of worship. A Spanish Mission(San Juan del Puerto) was established in the center of the island in 1587 and lasted until 1702.General James Oglethorpe established Fort Saint Georges on the island in 1736 as the English tried totake Florida from Spain (the location of the fort today is unknown). The English gained control ofFlorida and the island in 1763 and this began the plantation period. The most dramatic evidence ofthis period can be found at Kingsley Plantation, a unit of the National Park Service. • Little TalbotIsland State Park shares much of the same history as the other islands in the vicinity. An extensiveIndian culture is evidenced by shell middens. • Some of the most important habitats are at thesouthern part of the island, which formed in the 1880s due to the building of the jetties at the mouthof the St. Johns River.THREATS: Big Talbot Island State Park: ____. Fort George Island: development (proposed channeldredging), human disturbance, erosion, feral cats, habitat succession, cowbird brood parasitism, andexotic plants. Little Talbot Island State Park: development, human disturbance, habitat succession,cowbird brood parasitism, and feral hogs.CONSERVATION ISSUES: Big Talbot Island State Park ____. Fort George Island: Talbot Island StatePark managers are currently writing the Management Plan. A General Management Plan wascompleted by the National Park Service and does not address the conservation aspects of the islandproper, but of the Timucuan National Preserve (the proposed new name of the preserve) in general.The major future impacts will come from increasing human use. The National Park Service andKingsley Plantation are contemplating a Landscape Management Plan, which has the potential toclear habitats between the Slave Quarters and the Plantation House that may remove habitat forseveral pairs of Painted Buntings. • The State Park is currently restoring the Ribault Club House onthe southeast side of the island. Preparations for increased use of this part of the island includeincreased mowing, removing trees along the edge of the marsh to open up the view, and planningadditional parking and picnicking areas. • The interior of the island contains unique habitat. A golfcourse built in the 1920s was abandoned in 1991 and offers an opportunity to manage old fairways ashabitat for many wildlife species. Little Talbot Island State Park: The park management plan isrewritten every five years. Visitation is rising and will become an increasing concern. One positiveregulation is that dogs are prohibited from the park. Little Talbot Island is long and linear, with about5 miles (8 km) of beach. Driving on the beach is prohibited. The main problem along the beach is thedisturbance of nesting and roosting birds, especially on the north end of the island. However, boaterswho land on the sand islands between Little and Big Talbot Islands are a much more urgent problem.• State Road A1A is the main highway between Fernandina Beach and Jacksonville. This highwaymay become an issue if planners need to move the highway farther inland as the southern end of theisland continues to erode. There has already been significant erosion on the south end of the island.The pier was lost two years ago and encroachment by the sea is becoming more evident. A decisionlooming by city, state, and federal agencies about the Fort George River Inlet Bridge will greatlyimpact the south end of Little Talbot Island.NOMINATED BY: Roger Clark (U.S. National Park Service)WEBSITES: ,,
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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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(25) *pickerelweed (Pontedaria cord
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