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Sarasota News Leader September 13, 2013 Page 67 made it to the fledging stage, which takes • Twenty-seven percent of the failures were a result of predation by snakes, crows and about 40 days, according to statistics Luckner fire ants. provided. Sarasota Audubon representatives who at- • Nine percent of the failures were attributed to the beach flooding that resulted from tended a recent Florida Shorebird Alliance Tropical Storm Andrea's passage offshore meeting in Clearwater learned that Siesta had in June. the most successful snowy plover nesting season of all communities this year on the west • Volunteers checked the nesting areas twice coast of Florida, Luckner pointed out. a day, putting in 1,200 hours. He offered the other following details: After incidents earlier this year during which • 13 snowy plover nests were discovered on people violated buffers set up to protect the Siesta Public Beach, with two producing plovers, Luckner continued, representatives of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation chicks. Commission (FWC) and the Sarasota County • Seventy-four percent of the nest failures Sheriff's Office stepped up patrols. Additionwere attributed to human disturbances of ally, he said, on two occasions, a deputy and the seven established buffers. an FWC officer "with guns and badges" spoke The Siesta Key Association on Sept. 5 recognized Sarasota Audubon volunteers who kept a close watch on snowy plovers during the past nesting season. Volunteer coordinator Bob Luckner (right) gives SKA T-shirts to (from left) Joy Turner, Pat Sharp and Dick Miles. Not pictured is Allan Worms. Photo by Rachel Hackney