Explanation of Indicator
Estuaries and salt marshes are the preferred habitat of the reddish egret in Florida. The reddish egret nests entirely on barrier islands on the ground, in low bushes, and in trees. Given its dependence on a high quality coastal habitat, declining trends in populations of reddish egrets may indicate degradation, loss, or conversion of barrier islands and/or freshwater systems. As a result, the reddish egret is important as an indicator of the state’s coastal environmental health and the declining abundance of coastal salt marsh and estuarine habitat. The reddish egret is recovering from near extermination at the beginning of the century; as a result, its current habitat is not fully occupied. Reddish egret data have been collected in Florida since the early 1900s by various entities. The National Audubon Society has been collecting reddish egret data since 1978 in an attempt to monitor species population trends.
Data Characteristics
SOURCE
The source for these data is Rich Paul, the National Audubon Society, Tampa Bay Sanctuaries, 410 Ware Boulevard, Suite 500, Tampa, Florida 33619, or at (813) 623-6826.
ACQUISITION
The data can be obtained in hard copy format at no cost.
COLLECTION
The data are collected sporadically for different nesting sites in Florida. Nesting sites generally range from the Tampa Bay area to the Keys.
Data Limitations
The data are collected intermittently for different sections of Florida and, as a result, the figures are not accurate representations of coastal populations. If the data could be corrected so as to be representative, they could provide an excellent measure of the health of the coastal environment.
Recommendations
Data should be collected consistently over time as to accurately assess changes in reddish egret breeding populations and nesting activity. Data could easily be collected by National Audubon Society personnel, state personnel, or contracted out to other interested parties. Richard Paul at the National Audubon Society is very knowledgeable in this area and could either collect the data or recommend another party capable of doing so.