August 18, 1996

At the request of Seminole Audubon, and with the permission of the property owner, Ms. Catherine Read conducted a vegetation survey on Bird Island in 1996. She later identified a series of Planting Zones based upon a transect from the waters edge to the center of the island; photointerpretation of the 1"=200’ aerial; elevation approximations from the USGS Oviedo, Florida, Quad Map; a 1 foot contour survey of Lake Jesup provided by the St Johns River Water Management District and Lake Jesup stage data, also provided by SJRWMD. Zone 1 is near the waters edge. The zones increase irregularly toward the permanent upland central area (zone 8).

She recommended surveying to 1-foot contours to insure selection of appropriate planting elevations for each species of her suggested plantings. Site clearing could take the form of burning the zones outside zone 8 and February was deemed most desirable for such activity. If this is not possible, she recommended hand removal of only the undesirable species as the best option. Removal and installation of new plants should be completed by the middle of March in order not to interfere with the onset of bird breeding season.

Plant species observed 18 August, 1996

* Exotic

** Potential nuisance for this site

Suggestions for New Plantings

Ms. Read suggested monitoring of new plantings twice a month through the end of the first growing season with maintenance conducted as needed, including removal of exotic/nuisance plant species. Monthly monitoring should be adequate in the second year and then quarterly, with maintenance as necessary. She noted also that no one should enter zones 7 and 8 during the bird-breeding season. If birds appear disturbed, maintenance should be put off until the end of the breeding season - late July to Early August.

This survey is now almost five years old and vegetation alterations are likely.

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