Shorebird Workshop educates Beach residents
Volunteers are needed for shorebird monitoring during the nesting season.
That was among the topics presented by town, county and state speakers at the Shorebird and Wildlife Workshop at the Holiday Inn on Fort Myers Beach Wednesday.
Keith Laakkonen, environmental sciences coordinator for the Town of Fort Myers Beach, and Nancy Douglas, regional biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, were among the presenters that included Wildlife Habitat Management director Brad Smith; Lee County Conservation manager Roger Clark; Florida Department of Environmental Protection specialist Dan VanNorman; Estero Bay and Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves manager Heather Stafford; Turtle Time founder Eve Haverfield; and CROW clinic director Dr. PJ Deitscel.
Laakkonen began with a talk on conservation about the Beach environmental programs. and focused on Little Estero Critical Wildlife Area, an island on the south end of FMB which had its annual posting of strings and stakes to close off shorebird nesting areas recently.
After Laakkonen gave a brief history of the changing contour of the island, he laid the framework for assisting with the protection of shorebirds.
“I’m trying to set up a volunteer program for Little Estero,” he said. “This is for really dedicated volunteers who know their birds and want to get out there and do shorebird monitoring and walk the area to let us know when some of the twine and flagging is down.”
Other helpful tips during the nesting season were offered.
“There are several ways that anyone can get involved with beach environmental concerns,” said Laakkonen. “Beachscape is a volunteer program developed by the Marine Resources Task Force to allow people to control whatever vegetation is actually planted on the beach. Another way is through individual stewardship which is the planting of native trees, picking up trash and turning off inappropriate lights during turtle season.”
He then discussed the disturbing role fertilizer has with the environment.
“Most south Florida soils do not need fertilizer,” he said. “During the rainy season, those extra man-made nutrients will enter the estuaries and cause blue-green algae outbreaks that have taken place up the Caloosahatchee River. There’s also some growing evidence that it may influence the red-drift algae outbreaks and help exasperate red tides.”
According to Laakkonen, town officials have developed a fertilizer ordinance that goes into effect in June and prohibits any lawn application of nitrogen or phosphorus from June 1 to Sept. 30.
“Rain has a lot of nitrogen and your lawn doesn’t need the fertilizer,” he said.
Douglas explained the definition and functions of a critical wildlife area and reviewed the different species of shorebirds before speaking about Little Estero and its inhabitants.
“Little Estero Island is one of the few naturally functional barrier islands on the southwest coast,” she said. “Therefore, it has attracted an incredible assemblage of seabirds and shorebirds as well as wading birds. Roger Tory Peterson, who was known as the father of bird-watching, named Little Estero Island one of the finest places in the world to watch and photograph shorebirds and wading birds. It is well known internationally.
“But, I’m here to tell you it is a bird-eat-bird world out there. To hide from their many predators, shorebirds have to blend into the background. This is a great strategy if they are trying to avoid that crow that is flying around and looking to pick off their young.”
Other shorebird predators include pedestrians and various animals like raccoons and dogs. Douglas said the birds cannot differentiate between a little, likable dog versus a mean, hungry raccoon.
“Shorebirds have no tolerance or defense for four-legged predators,” she said.. “They never get used to dogs because when you take your dog home at night, that’s when the other four-legged predators come out. They have a much more visceral, dramatic reaction to four-legged predators than to two-legged predators over time. That’s why we post the area.”
Douglas reiterated Laakkonen’s message on maintaining the protection of shorebirds during nesting season.
“I’m so dependent on local folks to keep the area posted,” she said. “We have a lot of great volunteers who get involved. If you’re interested in helping out, that would be great.”
Smith followed Douglas and spoke on the conservation of snowy plovers on Sanibel Island before discussions by Clark on Lee County’s involvement with Little Estero; Dan VanNorman on mangrove trimming; Heather Stafford on resources of the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve; Eve Haverfield on turtle protection time during the nesting period between May 1 and Oct. 31; and Deitschel on CROW’s function and veterinarian skills.
The free workshop was sponsored by MRTF, Florida’s FWC Commission and the Holiday Inn of FMB.