What do you call a spicy bird that’s full of energy and spunk…one that’s feisty when cornered and will watch your every move? Well in our case, we call him Sriracha! He nests at Fowler Beach, the Refuge’s only bay beach unit, along with many of his other piping plover and least tern rivals. In 2024, much to his chagrin, we put leg bands on him to help us keep track of him. These bands have a unique color combination (kind of like a bird social security number) so that anytime he is caught or spotted by a scientist they can tell who he is and where he was banded.
Last fall, we were able to see Sriracha’s 1000-mile migration in real time thanks to a collaborative project with Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. We helped attach radio transmitters (AKA NanoTags) to six of our piping plovers in 2024, including Sriracha. As the plovers headed south, we could see when they flew near Motus towers – an international network of radio towers that detect wildlife transmitter signals. Sriracha made the southward trip in just 5 days! Even more exciting, wintering grounds surveyors observed Sriracha along with dozens of other piping, snowy, and Wilson’s plovers using the premier habitat at part of Fort De Soto Park’s north beach (colloquially known as Outback Key) on Florida’s gulf coast. After the fall hurricanes, he wasn’t observed again, so we were overjoyed to see this spicy guy back in his nesting territory this year on St. Patrick’s Day.
If you’re interested in learning more about Motus, head on over to https://motus.org/. Did you know that we have our very own tower at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge? Navigate to the Motus Dashboard and zoom in to the Refuge’s headquarters area to find our tower and see what birds have been passing by.
From March 1 to September 30, Fowler Beach is closed to public access to prevent disturbance to nesting birds and their young as well as migrating shorebirds like the red knot. Please obey all posted signage and avoid entering areas that are marked as closed so that vulnerable wildlife, plants, and their habitats can thrive!
