Field notes #5 Snook Island Scouting Trip

#012916- MacArthur survey cancelled due to lack of daylight at low tide…

Since the tides are high at our intended study site, and the low tides were at sunset; we decided to investigate another estuary site. We went to scout out Snook Islands.

Project Location
The Lagoon adjacent to the Lake Worth Municipal Golf Course and north of the Lake Worth Bridge.

It was not low tide, but we did see a few birds. To get the most benefit of this site, paddle boards or kayaks around the area would yield better results (because there are several tree islands north of any fixed locations we could access). The docks provided great viewing areas to half the site. This seems to be a great spot if anyone wants to look at pigeons!!! The docks were full. Here is a nice one!

Here is a tally of what we did see on our scouting mission. The snowy egret and great egret looks like juveniles, so it would be interesting to see if this is a typical occurrence and find out where any nearby nesting sites may be. Tide tables look like things at the study site may start to pick up and be more cooperative. Stay tuned. So far we are getting discouraged!

Bird Counts (Snook Island/Bryant Park)
	Count	Behavior	Disturbance
Snowy Egret	1	F	P
Great egret	1	F, R
Great Blue Heron	1	R
Little Blue Heron	1	F,R
White Ibis	3	F
*F=foraging	R= roosting/resting	FO = fly over

Team members: Diane Arrieta & Grant Kramer