Audubon’s Everglades Science Center team is calling on bird enthusiasts across the state to search for Roseate Spoonbills and report banded birds on this form. Nearly 3,000 birds have been banded since 2003.
Each band resight is entered to win a special sticker and contributes to critical population data for this iconic Florida species.
Spoonbill sticker that says "I saw a Banded Spoonbill'
Record your banded spoonbill to win this special sticker!
To participate, locals and visitors alike should:
1. Look for Roseate Spoonbill in public parks or on public lands (they can be entered from private property if respondents have permission to enter those areas).
2. Photograph or note any bands seen on spoonbills.
3. Enter data into this special form.
4. From now through the end of 2025, 10 respondents each month will receive a special “I saw a banded Roseate Spoonbill” sticker!
Audubon has studied Roseate Spoonbill since 1939.
“Understanding spoonbills’ behavior gives us clues to changes in water quality and quantity in the Everglades,” said Audubon Florida’s Director of Everglades Policy Kelly Cox. “Spoonbills can also provide warning signals for upcoming changes or shifts to an ecosystem, including rising seas,” he added. Lorenz’s ongoing research has already shown that Roseate Spoonbills are shifting their nesting site locations in direct response to habitat destruction and climate change.
In the early 2000s, Jerry Lorenz, PhD, then state research director for Audubon Florida, started applying leg bands to Roseate Spoonbills in search of more information about their fluctuating populations.