CEDAR KEYS AUDUBON PRESENTS RUSS ANDERSON 

PURSUING A SEAHORSE KEY ROOKERY RECOVERY

November 12, 2019

Will birds ever return to Seahorse Key to nest in their once great numbers? That has been a lingering question in Cedar Key ever since the sudden collapse of the nesting population in 2015. Cedar Keys Audubon speaker for November, Russ Anderson, interdisciplinary scientist with the 2050 Consortium, is working with a range of partners to recover these avian populations. His presentation “Recovering Seahorse Key” will take place on Monday, November 25, 2019, at 5pm at the Cedar Key library upstairs and is open to all those interested.

The unexplained, overnight departure of birds from a long-time nesting colony on Seahorse Key occurred in April, 2015. Herons, egrets, ibis, spoonbills, pelicans, and cormorants all deserted their nests and have not returned. For whatever reason, thousands of birds departed abruptly, leaving behind nests with eggs. Many have re-settled on Snake Key, a smaller nearby island, but there seems to be little activity on Seahorse Key.

A team of conservation managers and researchers are hoping to entice birds back to Seahorse by using “artificial incentives” – broadcasted bird calls and decoys - to start in February, 2020. The goal would be to see if birds can be attracted back to the island for the spring of 2020 nesting season.

Mr. Anderson sees this project as not just benefitting the various bird species. Besides improving habitat opportunities, in part by relieving the crowding pressures on Snake Key, it could also restore the balance of flora and fauna on Seahorse Key. For example, this project might help prompt the return of a unique interdependence between nesting birds and snakes that existed prior to the 2015 collapse.

To understand if this approach is working will require regular monitoring. Mr. Anderson has put together a broad coalition of academic, private, and government agencies for support. But a significant part of his project would also need the help of volunteers/citizen scientists making observations and taking field samples. It will be an opportunity for people to participate in a novel scientific collaboration with regional and global implications.

Please, join us and help bring the birds back to Seahorse Key! 

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