First record of Roseate Spoonbills (Platalea ajaja) nesting on Lake Okeechobee since 1874
Abstract
Roseate Spoonbills (Platalea ajaja) were almost extirpated from Florida by the turn of the 20th century. Prior to the 1850s, historic records suggest that spoonbills bred in large numbers on Lake Okeechobee. However, the last documented record of spoonbills nesting on the lake was in 1874. The first aerial surveys of nesting wading bird colonies began on Lake Okeechobee in 1957 and they continued sporadically until 1992. In 2006, we began conducting annual wading bird nesting surveys as a part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan’s Monitoring and Assessment Plan, during which we observed Roseate Spoonbills nesting on Lake Okeechobee in 2009 (n = 3 nests) and 2013 (n = 2 nests). These recent nesting records represent the first confirmed nesting by the species on Lake Okeechobee since 1874. Our records, combined with other recent inland records, may indicate that the Roseate Spoonbill is expanding its nesting range to its historic distribution.
