Here’s what the number of winter shorebirds means for Florida

Between poor water quality and damage from Hurricane Ian, this year’s wildlife surveys hold extra weight, and researchers are paying special attention to Florida’s winter shorebird count.

Shorebirds are the watchdogs of our environment. If anything disturbs its balance and our environmental health declines, our feathered beachgoers are some of the first to notice and show signs of it. That’s why scientists like Audrey Albrecht, a shorebird biologist with the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, monitor them.

​”We’re counting all of the shorebirds and seabirds, and we also count raptors, so birds of prey, anything… and we count people and dogs, things that can be disturbing the birds that might affect the numbers,” Albrecht said.

It’s part of a statewide project that keeps an eye on birds that inhabit Florida’s shores.

“Long-term datasets like this are really important to help us identify trends and populations, so if we have a consistent number of birds over the years and suddenly there’s a dip in the numbers, you know, we can be alerted,” Albrecht said. “And when we have something like a red tide, we might see cormorants getting sick and lower numbers. It could be indicative of problems in other areas with birds that migrate.”

Despite initial concerns from red tide and Ian, this year’s statewide winter shorebird count is slightly higher than the 10-year average. But there was a noticeable change in the types of birds researchers spotted.

​”We had a few more seabirds, so things like gulls, terns, pelicans, than we did for the shorebirds and sandpipers and clovers,” Albrecht said.

Next time you’re on the beach, look out for your flying neighbors. Seeing them says something about the state of nature.