Breeding Populations of the Wood Stork in the Southeastern United States

Abstract

Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) in the southeastern United States decreased from 10,000 breeding pairs in 1960 to 2,500-5,000 pairs in the late 1970s. The number of breeding pairs appeared to increase to 5,000-6,000 by the mid-1980s. Since the mid-1970s, the center of breeding in the southeastern United States has shifted north. Fewer birds have nested in the traditional southern Florida colonies, while the number of pairs nesting in northern Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina has been increasing annually. Storks nesting in the northern colonies appear to be reproductively more successful than those in the south, which may explain the increase in total numbers.