Wildlife Observations at Honeymoon
Island State Park, Dunedin, FL 34698
Total Nest Count as of 3-14-13: 16 Osprey Nests - 1 Owl Nest - 1 Eagle Nest
Eagle Pair at Honeymoon Island State Park2012-13 Southern Bald Eagle Nesting Status:
9/18/12 Seen returning to nest
11/10/12 Crows in eagle nest
11/21/12 Eagles rebuilding nest, 1 of pair is new ind
1/13 Eagles Incubating
3/8/13 Eggs Hatched
2012 - 13 Osprey Nesting Status: Nest Summary  as of 3-14-13
Osprey Chicks:
Nest 4-1 No chicks visible,
but feed behavior observed
starting 3/6.



Incubating:
Nest 9-2 since 2/28
Nest 2-4 since 3/7
Nest 2-5 since 2/12
Nest 11-1 since 3/7
Nest 6-1 maybe?

Active Nests:
Nest 9-1, Nest 2-3, Nest 2-4A, Nest 7-2, Nest 11-2		 Limited Activity Nests:
Nest 2-4B
Nest 7-1
Nest 7-3 Limited activity, but nest
was built very quickly
starting 2/19 and is fully developed.
 
Nests with No Activity
Nest 9-3
Nest 2-6
Nest 6-2
Nest 9-3 is now completely gone.
Nest 6-0 had a few twigs in
February, but never developed.
Great Horned Owl2012-13 Great Horned Owl Nesting Status:
10-1  Two owlets fledged successfully.
Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nesting2012 (May > Oct.) Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nesting Status:
Nesting season runs from May thru October. Numbers were up statewide for 2012. - Hopefully a good sign. Daily beach patrols were conducted, and nests were protected by a wire cage to prevent predation from raccoons, ghost crabs, and to prevent disturbance by beach goers.
Loggerheads prefer the warmer sandy beach areas further south of here. The barrier islands this far north along the west coast are typically not heavily used nesting sites for this reason.
Typically, only a few Loggerhead nests are observed at Honeymoon Island each year. It is conjectured that only 1 in 1000 hatchlings survive to adulthood. Part of the survival success depends upon natural resource management practices.
Activity for 2012 Season
Number of nests per island:
5 Honeymoon Island
3 Caladesi Island
1 Anclote Key
12 Egmont Key
Activity for 2011 season:
0 Honeymoon Island
(5 False Crawls at Honeymoon)
2 Anclote Island
(4 False Crawls at Anclote)
6 Caladesi Island
52 Egmont Key