119th Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count

History of the Christmas Bird Count

Hunters and the birds they killed during a Christmas Side Hunt.

Before the turn of the 20th century, there was holiday tradition called the Christmas Side Hunt. Groups of hunters would compete to bring home as many birds and mammals as they could. Hundreds of non-game birds were killed in a single hunt and “winners” were published in leading sportsmens' journals.

Conservation efforts were just beginning in this era, and declines in bird populations concerned early naturalists and scientists. A new Christmas tradition was proposed by ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, who was involved in the early foundation of the Audubon Society.

On Christmas Day in 1900, the first of what was then called the “Christmas Bird Census” was conducted to count birds instead of hunting them. Chapman inspired 27 birders across North America to participate in this first Christmas Bird Count where they recorded 90 bird species.

Birders from an early Christmas Bird Count.

National Audubon Society Annual Christmas Bird Count

Each year since, birders from across the Americas have come together to participate in the Christmas Bird Count that has now become an international event. Tens of thousands of people coming together, all for the love of birds.

There are count circles in the United States, Canada,
 Latin America,  the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands. 

This year marks the 119th year for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, which is the longest-running community science project in the world. Over 2,000 count circles and around 75,000 people across North, Central, and South America collect and submit data each year.

All the data is accessible on the National Audubon Society website and it has been used and referenced in several reports and studies. The data collected is used by Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, wildlife agencies, and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. Data from the Christmas Bird Count has been used by government agencies and non-profit organizations including the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, North American Bird Conservation Initiative, and many more.

2018 Corkscrew Christmas Bird Count

Arial view of the Corkscrew Count Circle.

The Corkscrew Count Circle is separated into 11 sections.

The Corkscrew Christmas Bird Count is a 15 mile circle surrounding and including Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Several teams divide up the count area into 11 sections, which includes a diverse array of habitats and neighborhoods. There were about 60 participants in the Corkscrew CBC this year and birders of all experience levels were welcome.   

Evan, one of our other interns, volunteered with
Team 10 and is preparing their data sheets in the
Blair Center classroom. 

Teams meet in the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary 

parking lot.

Meeting locations and times for each team were determined by the team captain, but most teams met at the sanctuary and got an early start at about 7:00 am. While many count circles across the country have to deal with cold winter temperatures, we had beautiful weather in the upper 70s with only a few sprinkles of rain throughout the day. Teams traveled by foot, cars, trucks, boats, and even swamp buggies while identifying and recording birds by sight and sound.

I helped lead Team 2 on the big swamp buggy.

Team 4 ready to go on their swamp buggy.

Groups began returning to the sanctuary around 3:00 pm, but some didn’t return until after sunset. Our round-up dinner was held in the classroom of the Blair Audubon Center starting at 4:30 pm that evening, where food and drinks were available. Teams either dropped off their data forms or stayed for the dinner, where we began compiling all of the data from each team. After all the data was collected, the teams said their farewells and went home for some well deserved rest after a long day.

Here are the totals from all the teams in the Corkscrew count:

- 59 participants - 103.55 hours birding - 349.80 miles covered - 114 bird species observed - 13,821 birds counted - 1 great day of birding!

I felt very honored to not only participate, but also to help lead a section of the Corkscrew count. I was able to meet some very incredible people who have a deep passion for birding and nature. Some of the participants traveled from long distances just to be a part of our count and some also participate in multiple counts around the country.

Photo taken by John Maginess, a participant in my team,
during the Corkscrew count.

Seeing this dedication reminded me of the original Christmas Bird Count and the people so committed to the conservation of birds and other wildlife that started the environmental movement so many years ago. It was an amazing feeling knowing that I was a part of an effort that has been going on for over a hundred years and that thousands people around the world were birding together for a common goal.

-Amy, Education Intern

Follow this link to learn more about the National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count

Fish and Friends

This week the research team and I went to the Panther Island Mitigation Bank to conduct bimonthly fish sampling. The process of fish sampling is rather simple given our use of throw trapping methodology accompanied by the use of minnow traps. Throw trapping specifically is the method of throwing a large square trap into an undisturbed area with at least a few inches of water. Next, seines and nets are used to remove all of the fish and other aquatic organisms from the area within the trap. This methodology allows for  brief insight into the ecology of sampled wetlands as the traps help demonstrate the biodiversity, population sizes, and variability of species between wetland habitats.

A division of the research team throw traps a
shallow marsh in the Panther Island Mitigation Bank

Throw trapping can be a rather exciting field activity as you get to interact directly with the fish and be in the back-country, embracing and studying the environments that we, as researchers, have all come to love so much. Sometimes rare fish, reptiles, and amphibians are even caught in these traps fostering our need to learn more about our environment and the crazy critters that inhabit it. However, despite these great attributes, my favorite part about throw trapping are the conversations and bonds that are formed over the nets.

With each trap taking an hour or so to process, throw trapping creates the time and space for researchers to connect not only through their work, but through their conversations as well. During throw trap sampling I have gotten to know more about my coworkers music tastes, movie preferences, and past experiences than I ever thought I would. As we spend time hunched over the seine pulling fish after fish out of the trap, we joke about the shows we watch on Netflix. Or while sifting through mud and vegetation for organisms we discuss our past college courses and our future goals, making the time spent in the field fly by. This has taught me that, while research practices and work may seem mundane at times, these days spent out in the field not only embrace our love of the environment that we study, but the love for the people that we study it with.  

Two members of the research team and I finish up a
throw trap at the Panther Island Mitigation bank

I look forward to our next sampling event where we will continue to improve our knowledge of wetland ecology and fishes, as well as continue to grow our friendships!

- Evan, Conservation Intern

Road Mortality: What we can do about it

Dead Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus sp.) hit by a car

Driving around the Naples area, it’s hard to go 5 minutes without seeing a dead animal on the highway. Reptiles, amphibians, birds, rabbits, and even the rare Florida Panther (Puma concolor coryi) are the unlucky victims of a fragmented habitat that in the best case inhibits natural movement and gene flow and at worst kills an animal trying to travel between suitable habitats. Numerous studies have looked at the effects of road mortality on various species in Florida, with a variety of concerning findings.

One study conducted over a 2-year period (1987-1989) reported encountering 1,018 snakes on an 11.3km road segment, 70% of which were found dead or injured by cars (Bernardino & Dalrymple, 1992). Another study, by Steen et al. 2006, reported that female turtles are more likely to cross roadways than males and therefore experience higher road mortality, potentially skewing sex ratios near roadways and leading to population declines. From 1979-1991, 32 Florida Panther deaths were recorded, with the most common cause (15, 46.9%) being road mortality (Maehr, Land & Roelke, 1991). This is just a small sample of the literature regarding road mortality, but it is apparent that regardless of the species or location, the intersection of wildlife and vehicles never bodes well for the wildlife.

Eastern Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus) basking in the road

So what can be done to reduce the threat of road mortality on wildlife populations? Various mitigation approaches are used, including motorist behavioral modification (speed limits, signs, lights) and animal behavioral modification (wildlife crossing structures, habitat alterations). Wildlife crossing structures include underpasses, overpasses, drift fences, exclusion fences, and culverts, to name a few. Each mitigation approach has its pros and cons, and determining the most effective strategy requires extensive research and monitoring of wildlife populations and causes of unnatural mortality. Location, structure dimensions, habitat cover, noise levels, the use of fencing, and many other factors can determine the success or failure of a crossing structure. To learn more, check out the papers referenced below (Foster & Humphrey, 1995; Dodd, Barichivich & Smith, 2004; Glista, DeVault & DeWoody, 2009).   

References

Bernardino Jr F, Dalrymple G. 1992.Seasonal activity and road mortality of the snakes of the Pa-hay-okee wetlands of Everglades National Park, USA - ScienceDirect. Available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/000632079290928G (accessed December 9, 2018).

Foster M, Humphrey S. 1995. Use of Highway Underpasses by Florida Panthers and Other Wildlife on JSTOR. Wildlife Society Bulletin 23:95–100.

Glista DJ, DeVault TL, DeWoody JA. 2009. A review of mitigation measures for reducing wildlife mortality on roadways. Landscape and Urban Planning 91:1–7. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2008.11.001.

Dodd C, Barichivich WJ, Smith LL. 2004. Effectiveness of a barrier wall and culverts in reducing wildlife mortality on a heavily traveled highway in Florida. Biological Conservation 118:619–631. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2003.10.011.

Maehr D, Land E, Roelke M. 1991. Mortality patterns of panthers in southwest Florida. Proceedings of Annual Conference of Southeastern Fish and Wildlife Agencies 45:201–207.

Steen DA, Aresco MJ, Beilke SG, Compton BW, Condon EP, Dodd CK, Forrester H, Gibbons JW, Greene JL, Johnson G, Langen TA, Oldham MJ, Oxier DN, Saumure RA, Schueler FW, Sleeman JM, Smith LL, Tucker JK, Gibbs JP. 2006. Relative vulnerability of female turtles to road mortality. Animal Conservation 9:269–273. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-1795.2006.00032.x.

- Randi Bowman, Research Intern

Getting Outside the Gator Hole

A few weekends ago the other interns and I decided to take a weekend away from the gator hole (what our dorm is affectionately called) and explore a bit of south Florida different than the swamp. On a Friday afternoon we took off from Corkscrew for a camping trip at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo. As we set up our tents by the light of our car headlights we were anxious to wake up in the morning and explore the sound just over the trees from our campsite. The following day met us with a few surprises! We were not prepared for the hoards of sand fleas that like to hang around in early November which meant we were walking around in pants, long sleeve shirts, and socks and sandals. This put a bit of a damper on hanging out in the sun on one of the State Parks two beaches so while Amy and Lara went kayaking, Randy and I decided to hop on one of the snorkeling boats out to explore the offshore reefs! The ride out to the reef was worth the trip, with sparkling blue water that was almost turquoise at spots and so clear you could see the bottom even at 25 ft.

As we swam along the surface of the Altantic ocean I snapped photos so that I could later identify all that we saw along our 4.5 hour excursion. Occasionally taking deep breaths and diving down to get a closure look of the world going on below us is how I got these two snapshots of what we saw! One of the most common corals we saw were Gorgonians, commonly called sea fans, which is a soft coral. Even in the photo above you can see the Gorgonians swaying with the current. Hidden behind the sea fans may be another type of soft coral called Plexaura, also known as sea rods, although it's hard too see. The orange coral with the white tips is Milleporina or fire coral. Used for defense and capturing food fire corals have a neurotoxin in their polyps that if touched will leave a stinging sessions and/or rash at the point of contact so be careful to avoid accidentally grazing this coral! Circling this patch of coral is a Parrot Fish (Scarus spp.). They are a reef fish and like to feed on the algae on the corals and reef bottom. Seen weaving between the sea fans is a French Anglefish (Pomacanthus paru). This species will act as cleaning stations in the reef removing and eating parasites from other reef fish! These are just a few of the colorful corals and fish we saw out in the water. Too soon the captain called us in for the last time and we began our trip back into shore. The following morning we packed up, rather quickly in the rain, and head back home to Corkscrew. Our weekend of exploration was over but we were already planning for our next exciting trip!