SCCF: 4.9K sightings during Global Shorebird Count
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation reported that early September marks an important time for shorebird research and conservation. Every year, professionals, volunteers and citizen scientists around the world participate in a Global Shorebird Count the first week of the month — leading up to World Shorebirds Day on Sept. 6.
This year, the SCCF shorebird team surveyed Sanibel, Captiva, North Captiva and various Fort Myers locations. Over the week, it counted 4,918 shorebirds, seabirds and wading birds from 41 species.
MOST ABUNDANT SPECIES
– Sanderling (Calidris alba)
– Sandwich tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis)
– Willet (Tringa semipalmata)
– Laughing gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)
– Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
“This unified counting event benefits shorebirds by yielding valuable information about the abundance and distribution of species worldwide, and also by promoting the public’s awareness of and involvement in shorebird conservation,” SCCF shorebird intern Jessie Macaluso said.
The team was also fortunate to re-sight multiple banded birds. They included piping plovers from the Great Lakes region, a newly banded royal tern fledgling from Georgia, and even one of Sanibel’s own 2023 snowy plover fledges.
“Probably the most exciting was the re-sighting of a banded least tern nicknamed Whimbrel,” she said. “This bird hadn’t been seen since it left its natal colony on Outback Key in 2021. It was a cheerful moment for both the SCCF shorebird team and Whimbrel’s monitors up north.”
Up to 45 shorebird species can be seen at some point during the year on Sanibel and Captiva.
For more about World Shorebirds Day, visit https://www.worldshorebirdsday.org/.