Good News on Storks

The endangered bird species is struggling to recover to healthy population levels. Aerial surveys done by the DNR’s Wildlife Resources Division in May recorded nesting increases from 2007, when drought helped shrink the estimate to 1,054 nests, and 2006, the previous record at 1,928.

Survey flights completed in three days in May located wood storks nesting in 24 colonies across south Georgia. Sites were found in Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Jenkins, Liberty, Long, Lowndes, McIntosh, Screven, Thomas and Worth counties.

The species was federally listed as endangered when breeding populations in the Southeast slid to 4,500-5,700 pairs in the late 1970s, down from record populations of 15,000-20,000 pairs in the 1930s. Loss and alteration of habitat due to ditch building in south Florida is considered the primary reason for the original decline in the U.S. wood stork population.

Florida recently announced a $1.75 billion deal to buy nearly 300 square miles of the Everglades from U.S. Sugar Corp., an acquisition that could eventually restore critical habitat for the storks.