Latest news with #AudubonFlorida
Axios
14-07-2025
- General
- Axios
Inside the bird-nesting haven few humans see: Tampa's 3D Island
Rising 40 feet above the waters of Hillsborough Bay is a human-made island that's become a vital habitat for beach-nesting birds. Why it matters: 3D Island and nearby 2D Island — both formed from leftover sand from Port Tampa Bay dredging projects — support the reproduction of coastal birds that are key to a thriving, healthy ecosystem. Among the island populations are species that have struggled with population declines, including the black skimmer and American oystercatcher. 👋 Kathryn here. Humans typically aren't allowed on the islands during nesting season, spanning April 1 to Aug. 31. Yes, but: I was invited on a media tour of 3D Island by Port Tampa Bay spokesperson Lisa Wolf-Chason. Guides from Audubon Florida, which manages the island with the port and the Army Corps of Engineers, helped ensure we didn't interfere with nature taking its course. After I wrote about Florida's vanishing birds a couple of months ago, the visit last week was a salve. By the numbers: In June, Audubon representatives counted 220 black skimmer adults, 12 nests and 26 chicks on the island. There were 14 American oystercatchers, one nest and four chicks. Species of tern — including sandwich, Caspian and royal — numbered in the thousands, as did laughing gulls, those black-and-white birds that are plentiful on Tampa Bay shorelines. What we saw: There were so many birds that our Audubon and Port guides warned us that we may get pooped on. (Which I somehow avoided. Wolf-Chason wasn't so lucky — sorry, Lisa!) Black skimmers, with their long, orange and black beaks, were scattered throughout the island, and we even spotted the rare American oystercatcher on the sandy shore. On the way up the ridge were laughing gulls at various stages of growth: nests in the shrubbery with brown-speckled eggs, awkward tan-feathered teenagers stumbling over the sand, and black and white adults squawking above us. We paused at the top to observe a group of orange-billed royal terns, their black head feathers sticking up like mohawks. And then we saw the chick, a tiny little fluffball of joy tucked in the white wing of an adult. Stunning moment: A pesky vulture trying to poke around the island didn't stand a chance as every bird in the area, no matter the species, chased it off in a flurry of feathers. What they're saying:"That's the benefit of nesting in a colony," Audubon sanctuary manager Jeff Liechty said. "There's power in numbers." Between the lines: Another benefit of nesting on the island is the lack of people. Several species lay their eggs directly on the sand, making their nests particularly vulnerable — especially on crowded beaches. If you see a nesting area blocked off, stay clear of it. The bottom line: As for 3D Island, it belongs to the birds.
Miami Herald
09-07-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Largest Everglades flamingo flock in a decade spotted. Are they nesting in Florida?
One of the largest flocks of flamingos in a decade was recently spotted in the Everglades by avian ecologist and restoration scientist Mark Cook. Cook said he stumbled upon a group of 125 American flamingos while conducting a wading bird survey along the Florida Bay coastline last week. The flock is believed to be the largest one spotted in South Florida since 2014, when a group of 147 flamingos was observed in the northern part of the Everglades. Cook said he continued his survey after taking pictures of the group. 'Unfortunately, it's almost impossible not to spook a large group of flamingos from a helicopter and they rapidly took flight,' he wrote in a Facebook post. READ MORE: A flamingo was blown from Mexico to Florida during Idalia. He found his way back home A week prior to his bird wading survey in the Florida Bay, the scientist had spotted a group of 30 something flamingos in the northern Everglades that he believes likely to have joined the bigger flock, he wrote. Flamingos were uncommon sightings in South Florida until recently, since the native flamingo population was largely wiped out by hunters in the 18th century. After Hurricane Idalia hit the state in 2023, the wind scattered flamingos from nesting grounds in Mexico through Florida and as far up as Lake Michigan beach, Wisconsin. 'Flamingos are incredibly fast flyers and can travel large distances in a relatively short amount of time, so it wouldn't be surprising for them to move throughout South Florida and even among the local Caribbean islands on a regular basis,' Cook wrote. Cook oversees the annual South Florida wading bird surveys for the South Florida Water Management District. It's been going on for nearly 30 years. Whether or not flamingos are nesting in Florida and reclaiming historic territory has been a matter of debate. In 2018, scientists unearthed evidence and last year Audubon Florida launched a count to help confirm the matter. But state wildlife officials say native flamingos were wiped out by plume traders and consider any sighted today as migrants from nonnative flocks or descendants of escaped captive birds. Better monitoring flamingos to confirm if they are remaining year round and nesting in the state could lead to better protecting them. Over the years, there have been banding efforts by researchers to track the travel patterns across breeding populations found in the Caribbean and Yucatan Peninsula.
Miami Herald
30-06-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Largest group of flamingos in a decade spotted in Florida Everglades
The largest group of American Flamingos seen in Florida in more than a decade was recorded late last week. Mark Ian Cook, a wildlife and scientific photographer, posted on Facebook that he saw a group of 115 flamingos along the coastline of Florida Bay in the Everglades on Friday. Cook was taking part in an aerial bird survey via helicopter over Florida Bay when the flamingos were first spotted. He said pilot James Davies "pointed out a large group of Roseate Spoonbills in the distance, which isn't an unexpected sight in this area. Except on closer inspection we realized they weren't spoonbills, they were a group of 115 flamingos." Cook said it is the largest single flock recorded in Florida since 2014, when 147 flamingos were seen together in a water conservation area in the Everglades. "Unfortunately it's almost impossible not to spook a large group of flamingos from a helicopter and they rapidly took flight," he wrote. "But after taking a few images for science and giving a group of fishermen in a flats boat some incredible views as the birds circled around their boat, we left the birds in peace to continue our survey." Cook added that a group of 30-or-so flamingos seen in another part of the Everglades earlier appeared to have moved and may have joined with the 100-plus bird group. Florida's native flamingo population, thought to be in the thousands, was wiped out in the early 1900s by hunters seeking the birds' feathers and meat. Prior to 2023, few flamingo sightings were reported in the state. That changed when Hurricane Idalia created headlines by scattering flamingos from nesting grounds in Mexico into Florida and other places. While most flew home, many decided to stay in Florida. A group at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has been residing there for more than a year and half. Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida, told the Orlando Sentinel recently that more flamingos are being seen in Florida, even before Idalia. "We were increasingly seeing flocks of them in the Everglades in particular. So Florida Bay and in the water conservation areas," she said. "So we already know that there is some established movement between the breeding areas in the Yucatan and Cuba and South Florida in the winter. " While flamingos are being seen more, there has been no documented nesting in Florida since the late 1800s or early 1900s. "I think we all are eagerly waiting and hoping that that's going to happen," she said. "And, you know, it still could. But the first step is the bird staying through the season and being able to make a living here, so to speak." -------- Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Peaches the famed Hurricane Idalia flamingo turns up in Mexico after disappearing from Bay Area
The Brief Peaches the flamingo became a viral sensation during Hurricane Idalia. Strong winds blew a flock of flamingos up to Tampa Bay in 2023. Peaches went missing but now has been found in Mexico. YUCATAN PENINSULA - A flamingo that became a viral sensation during Hurricane Idalia after being blown to Tampa Bay by wild winds has been located after disappearing for two years. The backstory It's been almost two years since Peaches the Flamingo first got Tampa Bay's attention. "Everyone will remember that in Hurricane Idalia, there was a flock of flamingos that were migrating and got caught up in the storm," Audubon Florida Executive Director Julie Wraithmell said. Some of them, including a male flamingo later named Peaches, landed in the Bay Area. PREVIOUS:Flamingo rescued in Pinellas County after Hurricane Idalia could provide scientists with important data "It was rescued by some anglers that were out in their boat and taken to rehab when it was ready to be released. Audubon Florida and our partners at Zoo Miami banded that bird just to see if we could get some more information on what its fate would ultimately be," Wraithmell said. He was last spotted in October 2023 near Fort DeSoto and then he disappeared. For the next year and a half his whereabouts were unknown. RELATED: Flamingo found off St. Pete Beach after Hurricane Idalia released back into the wild As Wraithmell with Audubon Florida explained, bird tagging helps conservationists better understand bird migration patterns and whether rehabbed birds live long lives, but doing so is dependent on the tagged bird coming in contact with a human again and that human reporting the tag number. What they're saying "You can imagine the likelihood of reciting one of those bands is not always really high. I kind of liken it to putting a message in a bottle and tossing it into the, you know, the ocean of migration and hoping that it fetches up on a beach somewhere and somebody finds it," Wraithmell said. But that didn't happen in Peaches case. Last month, researchers in Mexico were tallying nearly 15,000 flamingo nests across the Yucatán Peninsula when one bird stood out. A blue band around a male flamingo's leg read USO2, which is Peaches tag number. He's the second flamingo in the United States to be tracked. RELATED:Tracker to remain on 'Peaches the flamingo' as signs go up asking people to stay away from the bird "It's a redemption story," Wraithmell stated. "Flamingos used to breed in Florida. We shot them out around 1900 for food and for feathers. We've made tremendous strides in wetland restoration, hopefully, to create a more hospitable place for them to return and perhaps even breed in future years." The Source This story was written with information gathered by FOX 13's Jordan Bowen. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter Follow FOX 13 on YouTube
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Where did ‘Peaches' the flamingo fly after leaving Tampa Bay? Now we know.
The flamingo arrived to us exhausted and confused, like so many Floridians, just days after Hurricane Idalia walloped the Big Bend region in 2023. Boaters assessing the storm's damage found the bird struggling 800 yards off St. Pete Beach. Likely blown in on Idalia's winds, he was given shelter and named Peaches. For weeks after the storm, Peaches roamed the shores of Tampa Bay, offering locals a rare glimpse of a species that once flourished in Florida. But the flash of pink was gone nearly as quickly as it came. Where Peaches eventually flew to in October of that year remained a mystery to scientists and bird lovers alike. Until now. In early May, as researchers in Mexico tallied the nearly 15,000 flamingo nests across Yucatán, one bird stood out. Amid a pink flurry, experts spotted a blue band around around a male flamingo's leg. It read 'USO2″— the second flamingo in the United States to be tracked. Our old friend, Peaches. 'We are humbled by the resilience of this bird. US02 was swept up in a hurricane, carried to our shores, and managed to return to the place of its birth to contribute to the next generation,' Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida, told the Tampa Bay Times in a statement. Not only does the sighting give Peaches' Florida fanbase a much-desired update on his whereabouts, it also confirms a flamingo migration pattern between Florida and the Yucatán, according to Yucatán Magazine. 'These kinds of feats of endurance and navigation are a natural part of birds' life histories, but it is always so inspiring to have this kind of insight into a single individual,' Wraithmell said. Despite intensifying pressure from development and climate change, the flamingo population in Yucatán has rebounded from 5,000 birds in the 1950s to a current estimate of 40,000, the magazine reported, citing data from the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas in Mexico. Peaches' story underscores how conservation efforts can make a difference in the life of a single bird, as well as its population, Wraithmell said. After his rescue, Peaches was brought to Indian Shores' Seaside Seabird Sanctuary for eight days of care. Jerry Lorenz, former research director with Audubon, put the band on the bird's leg before he was released. While Peaches decided to leave Florida, other flamingoes blown in by Idalia stayed. In May 2024, a survey conducted by Audubon Florida found more than 100 flamingoes, mostly in South Florida. The largest grouping of flamingoes — collectively known as a flamboyance — was logged in Florida Bay at the southern tip of the peninsula. Another 18 were tallied in the Pine Island near Sanibel, and there were more than a dozen flamingoes found at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Brevard County, according to the survey. Audubon staff said they haven't seen any flamingo sightings in the Tampa Bay area since 2023. Once abundant in Florida, the flamingo population plummeted during the 19th-century plume trade. Recent numbers from the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimate there are up to 330,000 mature flamingoes in the wild across the world. There are several steps the Florida public can take to help wild flamingo populations. Audubon Florida encourages Floridians to record possible sightings to public birding platforms like eBird, which helps researchers gather data on where populations are located. Advocating for continuous restoration of the Everglades, where most flamingoes are found, will also help bolster habitat for Florida's avian cultural mascot, according to the group. And remember: If you do see a flamingo in the wild, give it plenty of space. The Tampa Bay Times launched the Environment Hub in 2025 to focus on some of Florida's most urgent and enduring challenges. You can contribute through our journalism fund by clicking here.
