FLORIDA BAY, Fla. (AP) — A year after National Audubon Society scientists noticed nesting numbers were down, the roseate spoonbill appears to be back.
Halfway through this year’s breeding season, scientists tell The Miami Herald (http://bit.ly/AcSd6k ) the numbers are up. But it’s too early to tell what the future will bring.
Scientist Jerry Lorenz recently made a tour through the mangroves to check spoonbill nests. He says he is hoping last year’s abandonment of Florida Bay may have simply been a blip.
The pink birds nest on mangrove islands in the Florida Keys. Lorenz says the birds only built 69 nests in the bay last year. That’s a third of the nests the birds built the previous year, which had been an all-time low. So far this year, at least 160 nests have been spotted.
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Information from: The Miami Herald, http://www.herald.com
Source: Associated Press
