Species Profile: Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) on Military Installations in the Southeastern United States

Abstract

Abstract : The wood stork (Mycteria americana) is a large colonial wading bird that breeds in a variety of wetland habitats. Its current range extends from southern South Carolina through Florida and from Mexico to northern Argentina, but populations in the United States are disjunct from those in Mexico and Central America. Storks disperse after the nesting season; the postbreeding range formerly extended to Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina but has been greatly reduced in recent years. The wood stork in the United States was Federally listed as endangered in 1984; it is State listed as endangered in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Typical nesting habitat consists of medium to large trees located in wetlands over standing water or on islands surrounded by open water. Storks nest at natural palustrine freshwater and estuarine sites and in artificial wetlands such as impoundments and dredged material islands. They forage in wetland habitats characteristic of the ecoregions in which nesting colonies are located. Foraging flocks of wood storks have been documented on at least six military installations in the southeastern United States. This report is one of a series of Species Profiles being developed for threatened, endangered, and sensitive species inhabiting plant communities in the southeastern United States. The work is being conducted as part of the Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP). The report is designed to supplement information provided in plant community management reports for major United States plant communities found on military installations. Information provided on the wood stork includes status, life history and ecology, habitat requirements, impacts and causes of decline, habitat assessment techniques, inventory and monitoring, and management and protection.