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Wading birds returned to historic Everglades nesting areas, but in lower numbers

Wading birds in South Florida had a dismal nesting year in 2019, but scientists say there’s a silver lining: the birds that did nest were doing it in the right places.

In the 2019 nesting report compiled by the South Florida Water Management District, Audubon Florida, the University of Florida, Florida Atlantic University and others, nesting numbers amounted to just 72 percent of the 10-year average, said district avian ecologist Mark Cook. That follows a record-breaking season that produced super colonies and numbers not seen since the 1930s.

Cook blamed poor nesting on heavy rain that flooded foraging grounds during the start of the dry season as chicks were hatching, as reported by the Miami Herald in May.

“Basically, these birds lost their restaurants in the Everglades. Their meal, their food, is just dispersed all over the Everglades again and they just are unable to get enough food to feed their chicks,” he said.

For more, see Miami Herald News partner, WLRN News.

Nesting numbers for roseate spoonbills were down again in Florida Bay, where sea rise is driving up water levels.
Nesting numbers for roseate spoonbills were down again in Florida Bay, where sea rise is driving up water levels.