Monitoring and Management of Rooftops and Overview of Historic rooftop sites on

the Treasure Coast

Rooftop Nesting on Tar and Gravel Roofs

Least Tern Colonies in Florida: The trend towards roofs

• Southeast Florida - 100% on Ground (Downing 1973)

• Florida Atlantic Coast – 21% on Roofs (Fisk 1978)• Southeast Florida – 93% on Roofs (Zambrano et al

2000)• Florida Keys – 38% on Roofs (Hovis and Robson

1989)• Florida Keys – 100% on Roofs (Zambrano

unpublished data 2000)

ROOFTOPS SURVEYED IN 2010

• Six species nesting on roofs

• 32% roofs became unsuitable from 2000-2010

• 146 active, 221 inactive, 107 unsuitable

• 16 sites with 2 or more species

ACTIVE ROOFTOPS IN THE TREASURE COAST - 2010

Roof tops - Indian River County

• Lowes #0240 ,Home Improvement Warehouse 27.64011 -80.45225 6110 20th St. Vero Beach –UNSUITABLE

• Macy's-Indian River Mall 27.64265 -80.46151 Indian River Mall, Rt. 60 Vero Beach

• Office Depot #380, Vero Beach 27.64025 -80.4489 5950 20th St Vero Beach

• Publix #00284-Vero Beach 27.6392 -80.44608 2040 58th Ave Vero Beach - UNSUITABLE

• 27.62859 -80.39136 929 14th Lane Vero Beach 32960

• Walgreens-Vero Beach 27.6379 -80.4457 5755 20th St Vero Beach • Winn-Dixie #2354, Sebastian 27.77993 -80.4957 995 Sebastian Blvd Sebastian

Roof Tops - St. Lucie County

• Bayshore Elementary 27.28955 -80.36466 1661 SW Bayshore Blvd. Port St. Lucie

• Dan McCarthy Middle School 27.43211 -80.3347 1201 Mississippi Avenue Ft. Pierce- UNSUITABLE

• Fort Pierce Police Department 27.4388 -80.32536 Hayes Road and US1 Ft. Pierce

- UNSUITABLE • Indian River Community College 27.42523 -80.35746 3209 Virginia Ave. (Bldg W)

Ft. Pierce

• Northport Middle School 27.32031 -80.35171 250 NW Floresta Pt. St. Lucie

Roof Tops - St. Lucie County

• Orange Blossom Mall 27.4266 -80.36733 4300 Okeechobee Rd. Ft. Pierce

• Parkway Elementary 27.34803 -80.3695 7000 NW Selvitz Rd. Port St. Lucie - UNSUITABLE

• St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant 27.34933 -80.24633 6501 South A1A Jensen Beach- UNSUITABLE

• Behind Treasure Coast Plaza 27.19217 -80.24828 901-907 Hillcrest Ave Stuart

• Heritage Inn- Hobe Sound 27.09936 -80.15921 8605 S.E. Federal Highway Hobe Sound- UNSUITABLE

• Publix - 5893 SE Federal Highway 27.1347 -80.20658 5893 SE Federal Highway Stuart

• Stuart Fine Foods 27.19716 -80.2243 2300 S.E. Ocean Blvd. Stuart

• Treasure Coast Plaza 27.19094 -80.24812 923 SE Lincoln Stuart

• Wachovia Bank, Stuart 27.19753 -80.25506 301 E. Ocean Blvd. Stuart

• Waterblasting Technologies 27.15039 -80.21116 3170 SE Slater Street Stuart

Roof tops - Martin County

Non-gravel roof nesting

Monitoring – Flush Counts

• Count when there is a flushing event• Conduct several counts if possible and use the highest count

of adults• Wait at least 15 minutes if no birds are seen or heard• Monitor per FSA count windows

Monitoring – Direct Counts

• Obtain permission to access adjacent property• Conduct direct counts of adults, nests, and/or chicks• May require a spotting scope or binoculars• Monitor per FSA count windows

Management – Chick fences

Management – Preventive Maintenance of A/C and Roof Repairs

Management – Shade and Shelter

Why Chick Check?Chicks may fall off roofs if there is no raised edge, fencing, or drain screensVolunteers should check for chicks at least 3 times a day

Management – Chick Checking

The chick-a-boom ride

Chick corral and 3rd generation chick-a-boom, (John Hood - Suncoast partnership)

Education• Signs available for

distribution to willing building owners and managers