Tropical Audubon Society

South Florida’s Voice of Conservation

Crandon's wintering Piping Plovers are setting the bar high this season with 46 birds and 20 of them are banded. Eleven different banding projects are represented and many birds returned from past seasons. Sand bars are forming off Virginia Key (Bear Cut side) so birds are moving back and forth, depending on the tides and amount of human activity. A HUGE shout-out to David Die Dejean for his dedicated surveys and excellent photos. Canadian Maritime birds: 3; Missouri River birds: 3; NJ birds: 3; VA, NC and MI represented by 1 bird each; NY birds, 8. Two birds returned for their 4th winter; two birds returned for their 5th winter; and the Platte River bird is back for a 6th winter. The special Fire Island bird missing its left leg, returned for the second winter. Perhaps two negative impacts on these endangered birds can be reversed: The cordoned roosting area on Crandon is becoming vegetated and plovers prefer non-vegetated wide sandy expanse; and The upcoming ULTRA music festival will take place on Virginia Key prior to the Piping Plovers departure from our wintering area.