ISS in the Georgia Bight
The Georgia Bight, stretching between Cape Hatteras and Cape Canaveral, is a geographic feature that allows many ingredients of great shorebird habitat to come together and create a landscape that is unparalleled. High tidal ranges, low wave energy, and numerous productive inlets, expansive marshes, sand bars, and mudflats are abundant. The addition of undeveloped barrier island beaches which provide sites for nesting, feeding, and roosting makes the region incredibly valuable to shorebirds.
Importantly, Northeastern Florida to South Carolina have seen less development and engineering compared to other parts of the eastern United States, and these areas are the focus of the Georgia Bight Shorebird Conservation Initiative, which Dr. Abby Sterling leads for Manomet. Collaborating with a variety of state, federal, and local partners such as state biologists like Georgia’s Tim Keyes, and South Carolina’s Felicia Sanders, the initiative works to protect all the estimated 400,000 shorebirds that use this area year-round.
Brian Harrington established ISS in the Georgia Bight in 1980 and since 2013, the Georgia Bight crew has averaged around 200 ISS surveys per year, submitted by approximately 20 contributors. The incredible volunteers conduct surveys from beaches and boats, along impoundments and on barrier islands. At certain sites like Hilton Head Island, dedicated volunteers conduct surveys year-round.
Dr. Sterling tells us that ISS has been instrumental in documenting the numbers of shorebirds that depend on the Bight, leading to the designation and expansion of three WHSRN sites. They have also been able to use the Mapping Tool to identify new ISS sites and reach out to partners to increase coverage. The ISS Mapping Tool has also been used by state partners to quickly pull together information about how specific sites are used to help provide support for increased protection.
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