Factors affecting breeding status of wading birds in the Everglades.

Abstract

This report summarizes work done during the 1998 field season on Research Work Order 188, for the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers through the U.S. Geological Service's Biological Resource Division's Florida Cooperative Research Unit. The goals ofthis work were to continue the monitoring of nesting by waterbirds in the central and northern Everglades, and to initiate research aimed at understanding why a very large proportion ofthe adult wading birds in the Everglades do not initiate nesting in most years. Between January and July of 1998, we performed systematic aerial surveys of WCAs 1, 2, and 3 ofthe central and northern Everglades in order to locate and document breeding colonies ofwading birds. In addition, we performed systematic ground surveys to serve as checks on the aerial work, and to document solitary nesting species, and dark colored species not easily counted from the air. (88 page document)