Florida looks for rare egrets
Demand for fashionable hats almost wiped out one of North America's rarest birds. Now Florida biologists want to establish a baseline for the reddish egret's population to make sure the bird with the smooth dance moves doesn't go the way of the dodo.
"We suspect that there are population declines in the last 15 or 20 years," said Andrew Cox, a biologist at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "This is a species that is currently a candidate to be listed as state-threatened."
Florida currently defines the bird as the less serious status of a “species of special concern.”
But a biological status review in 2011 showed the reddish egret meets the criteria for the more serious state listing status of "threatened." The new listing status will go into effect when FWC commissioners approve an Imperiled Species Management Plan for the bird.
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First, FWC will conduct a statewide survey of the bird's population.
As with many species, reddish egrets also are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
And like many other Florida birds, plume hunters almost wiped them out in the 1800s. Their feathers were fashionable on womens' hats. Pollution and habitat loss also posed challenges to the bird.
Population estimates of reddish egrets were only 350 to 400 pairs in the early 1990s.
Now, biologists estimate 5,000 to 7,000 birds (4,250 breeding pairs).
But that's only about 10 percent of the bird's pre-plume-hunting numbers.
When reddish egrets hunt, they're pretty hard to miss. They prance around like they're “dancing” as they chase prey. Wings spread, they hop and weave back and forth when trying to catch fish.
Cox kayaks places like the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, looking for such rituals.
He's documented 50-55 nesting pairs of the birds at the refuge.
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"It's one of the most important areas of the state for the bird," said Cox, who works at FWC's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.
He and other biologists worry the massive March fish die-off near Merritt Island and the ongoing algae blooms could harm the bird's breeding and impact other wading birds as well.
Birds might abandon nests if there aren't enough fish around to eat. They can travel far from their breeding grounds to forage. But reddish egrets are limited by foraging habitat, and visibility and prey availability near their breeding sites is reduced by algae blooms.
"These guys are very visual foragers," Cox said. "I would think it could impact their foraging success."
And that could impact their reproductive success, he said.
Contact Waymer at 321-242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com Follow him on Twitter@JWayEnviro and at facebook.com/jim.waymer
Learn about reddish egrets:
http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/imperiled/profiles/birds/reddish-egret/
Learn about the Imperiled Species Management Plan for the reddish egret here: http://myfwc.com/imperiledspecies/
Think you've seen nesting reddish egrets?
To report nesting reddish egrets, call: 727-502-4785 if they suspect they know of nesting birds.