Red Hills wading bird survey offers population insights

Jul 1, 2024

A recent wading bird rookery survey conducted by Tall Timbers showed a shift in the number of areas birds are using to nest.

Completed in April, the helicopter survey looked to locate historic rookeries in Florida. Officials with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources flew the Georgia portion of the survey while Tall Timbers’ staff flew a total of 397 miles in Florida with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The Red Hills region is the stronghold for many species on private lands, including on the vast conservation lands in the area. The survey estimates populations by locating wading bird rookeries within the area. Once a rookery is found species are identified and the number of nests are counted.

The Florida portion of the Red Hills had not been flown since the 1990s so an updated survey was needed.

Of the 16 historic rookeries marked by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, eight were not found, one had wading bird activity and seven were present nearby.

In all, five different species – egrets (multiple species grouped together), great blue herons, little blue herons and ibis – were identified in rookeries.

No woodstork nests were discovered, but activity at one rookery was documented.

The number of individuals are approximate and it is likely more birds/nests were present than were seen. It is also likely other more cryptic and dark colored species including, little blue herons, green herons and night herons were not seen during the survey but could have likely been present.

Tall Timbers Biological Monitoring Coordinator Kim Sash said there is not a concern in the Red Hills that wading birds are in decline. Given the large area covered in a single day it is likely that some nesting sites were overlooked.

“Right now, we aren’t concerned,” she said. “We know there’s rookeries out there that we didn’t find.”

Ideally, ground confirmation of species diversity could help better document species and nests present, but conducting an aerial survey enabled us to cover a lot of ground. We hope to continue conducting these surveys every few years to monitor these populations.

Original story published on March 1 

Keep an eye on the sky for Red Hills wading bird survey

We’ve entered the breeding season for wading birds in our area.

Tall Timbers and several wildlife agencies will be conducting aerial surveys of rookery habitats throughout the Red Hills in Georgia and Florida.

Due to declines in wetland habitats wading birds are of particular interest to both Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

The Red Hills region is the stronghold for many species on private lands and we want to understand how many wading bird rookeries are found within this area especially because we have so much conservation land in the region.

If you live near a swamp, cypress dome, or pond with shrubs or trees in the middle you may see any number of wading birds spending time in the branches and building their stick nests. Some wading bird species in our area include, great blue herons, little blue herons, snowy egrets, great egrets, white ibis, and green herons.

The first week of April (weather pending) in partnership with USDA Wildlife Services, Tall Timbers will be conducting aerial surveys with a helicopter over the Florida Red Hills in search of wading bird rookeries.

Georgia DNR will be flying the Georgia Red Hills also in search of rookeries.

We will be flying transects and also flying over previously known rookery locations. We will be identifying the number of species, number of nests, and the number of eggs and/or chicks.

If you believe you have a rookery on your property please reach out and let us know.

Contact, Kim Sash Tall Timbers Biological Monitoring Coordinator at ksash@talltimbers.org.

About the Author
Kim Sash
Kim is the Biological Monitoring Coordinator at Tall Timbers, helping connect research and land conservation work. She brings a great depth of experience in hands on land management and research, in addition to being our go to person for any reptile and amphibian questions.
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