Mike Salisbury, UR - Turtles, and Seabirds, and People! Oh, My!

Today I stopped by the Volusia County Environmental Management Office in Daytona Beach to 

speak with Stacey Bell, the Sea Turtle Habitat Conservation Plan Field Manager. Initially, I wanted to pick up sea turtle nesting data from the past few years, but we discussed human effects on shore birds (including beach driving), and I was intrigued.  This is very similar to beach driving and sea turtles, but I think that human disturbance of shorebirds is a better topic for my UR project. 

Here are a few pictures from Volusia County Environmental Management Office:

I’m planning on collecting bird disturbance data/observations at three specific locations in New Smyrna Beach over the next few weeks. 

The locations are as follows:

A. North of 27^th Ave. – Beach driving

B. South of 27^th Ave. – No beach driving, but usually a crowded beach

C. 30^th Ave. –No beach driving, less people (not a very popular location due to lack of street parking)

The types of disturbances I have noted so far are as follows:

• Motor vehicles
• Bikes
• Pedestrians (adults and kids)
• Fishermen

I am thinking of using these three groups for bird types:  

• Shorebirds
• Gulls and Terns
• Wading birds and Seabirds

This is a slight change in direction, but I think it is a very relevant issue.

Click here to view this week's article

This week’s article provides some general information on sea and shorebirds of Volusia County. It discusses a few birds that are here year-round, and a few migratory birds that visit during the winter. The article also mentions the endangered/threatened piping plovers.  Overall, Volusia County beaches are important to many species of birds.

The article goes on to discuss The Volusia Shorebird Partnership, and I quote: “The Volusia Shorebird Partnership is a countywide alliance of interested groups, organizations, and individuals committed to advancing shorebird and seabird stewardship in Volusia County. The partnership accomplished this through coordinated and collaborative work that helps to identify and address important needs with regard to research, management, education, outreach and public policy.”

The article concludes by listing ways you can help shorebirds:

• If you notice other people conducting activities that may be harmful to birds, kindly remind them of the dangers of their actions. Most people don’t realize they may be harming wildlife and will change their behaviors once they are educated.
• Dispose of trash properly. Use designated trash receptacles and fishing line recycling bins for monofilament to avoid entanglement of birds.
• Keep your distance from resting, feeding, and nesting birds. Vehicles, bicycles and beach combers can disturb resting birds that need all their vital energy for long migrations or to search for food.

Human interference with coastal wildlife/habitats, sounds familiar right?