Beach-nesting Bird (BNB) Monitoring
What is a BNB? Our defination of beach-nesting bird or BNB is any species of shorebird or seabird that regularly uses beaches for nesting habitat. Learn more about Florida's BNB species, click here.
Importance of monitoring
Monitoring allows us to better understand the effects of various factors (e.g. habitat loss, predation, disease, pollution) on shorebird and seabird populations. Long-term monitoring of nests and colonies enables us to detect changes in the abundance, distribution, and overall productivity of breeding shorebirds and seabirds over time. Understanding impacts and trends is necessary in assessing population health- knowledge critical to developing conservation guidelines or implementing management activities that are effective.
Current monitoring efforts
In general, BNB monitoring programs are organized locally by biologists or land managers for a particular site, and regionally by some of the regional partnerships. In 2005, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) established an on-line database titled the "Florida Beach-nesting Birds Website" to consolidate the monitoring data collected statewide. In 2011, the on-line database was redeveloped and titled the Florida Shorebird Database (FSD). Learn more about the new database website and how you can get involved, click here.
Monitoring reports
Other reports can be found on the resources page, click here.
