As part of its long term vegetation management plan at the Big Carlos Pass beach (Carlos Pointe), FWC is looking for as much help as possible with manual removal of sandspur seed pods in and around the shorebird nesting colony.
Southwest Region Shorebird Biologist Tyson Dallas said, “we’re aiming to reduce the presence of sandspurs at this nesting site to improve future nesting conditions for the shorebirds. The objective of this fieldwork is to collect as many sandspur seed pods as possible to minimize the amount of incidental planting that occurs when the beach is tilled in early September.”
Dallas says he will be doing the fieldwork Monday, August 16th. He’ll be at the side around 7:45AM and plans to pick until it gets too hot or thunderstorms chase him away. He recommends shoes (not sandals), long pants, and plenty of water to drink. Optionally you may bring gloves or a pair of sheers to cut seed heads. Dallas will supply some grocery bags and 5 gallon buckets to collect the spurs in and large trash bags for disposal. If you prefer a bucket and have access to one, he recommends bringing it since its not known how many volunteers will show up.