Oystercatchers take wing in Tampa Bay with the
skyline of Tampa in the distance. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation
Commission is working with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and volunteers
on an aerial and ground survey of East Coast oystercatchers.
The tall birds with pale pink legs and bright
orange beaks congregated on a spit of sand in The Kitchen area of Hillsborough
Bay Wednesday, making a census that much easier.
Mark Rachal, sanctuary manager for Audubon
Florida, slowly motored toward the tiny sandbar. With binoculars and a GPS at
the ready, he counted American oystercatchers in one of the more natural areas
of Tampa Bay, filled with clear water, seagrass and mangrove islands, and in
the more industrialized Port of Tampa area.
Scientists taking part in the first full count
of oystercatchers since 2003 are following their East Coast range in propeller
planes from New Jersey to South Texas. The goal of the count is to protect the
birds' nesting and foraging habitat and figure out ways to get their population
to a healthy level, Rachal said.
On Wednesday staff from the Florida Fish &
Wildlife Conservation Commission took to the skies between Cedar Key and Tampa
Bay.
Rachal and 14 others were out, verifying the
count from the ground. The census can be used by government and various
environmental groups when management plans are developed for the birds.
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