Sunday, November 15, 2026
Dangerous boating habits threaten nesting birds at Clam Factory Bay. Slow down and allow plenty of space between your boat and the mangroves while following the no wake signs posted in the area.
An overhead view of the Clam Factory Bay Rookery.
The Clam Factory Bay Rookery is home to nearly 20 species of wading and water bird species. Fishing lines discarded in the mangroves cause mass entanglement of birds, resulting in injury and death.
The Clam Factory Bay Rookery is home to nearly 20 species of wading and water bird species. Fishing lines discarded in the mangroves cause mass entanglement of birds, resulting in injury and death.
The Clam Factory Bay Rookery is home to nearly 20 species of wading and water bird species. Fishing lines discarded in the mangroves cause mass entanglement of birds, resulting in injury and death.
The Clam Factory Bay Rookery is home to nearly 20 species of wading and water bird species. Fishing lines discarded in the mangroves cause mass entanglement of birds, resulting in injury and death.
The Clam Factory Bay Rookery is home to nearly 20 species of wading and water bird species. Fishing lines discarded in the mangroves cause mass entanglement of birds, resulting in injury and death.
The Clam Factory Bay Rookery is home to nearly 20 species of wading and water bird species. Fishing lines discarded in the mangroves cause mass entanglement of birds, resulting in injury and death.
The Clam Factory Bay Rookery is home to nearly 20 species of wading and water bird species. Fishing lines discarded in the mangroves cause mass entanglement of birds, resulting in injury and death.
Fishing line caught in the mangroves is cut and not disposed of properly, leading to mass bird entanglements.
This graph represents the various species of birds that have been roosting at Clam Factory Bay Rookery from January 10, 2021, to April 10, 2024.
Many boaters pass by a stretch of mangroves and oyster bars in the southern area of Marco Island not far from the Caxambas marina. Some people stop to try to catch fish, whereas others are surprised by the number of birds resting in the trees. This rookery in Clam Factory Bay hosts nearly twenty wading/water bird species, with up to 3,000 birds coming in at night to sleep, depending on the month and the tide. It is both a rookery for the birds to rest safely at night and also a very important nesting location. I was notified of this rookery by Captain Marco Magdalener while he was out on the water. I started surveying it in 2021 as the biologist for Audubon Western Everglades. I aim to document data twice a month for both the sundown count and nesting numbers. As vital mangrove nesting locations are eroding around the state, it is important to protect the islands and lessen our disturbance to them. Compared to the ABC islands by the Jolley Bridge, this area is not labeled as a critical wildlife area. The ABC islands are closed to the public year-round whereas this rookery has no protections and no signage. The Clam Factory Rookery is somewhat protected by the massive dumping ground of clams from the historic clam harvesting done on the southern end of Marco Island. At lower tides, it is an incredible area for wading birds and shorebirds to feed amongst mudflats and oysters. Dolphins, manatees, sharks, stingrays, sea turtles, and tarpon thrive in this location. Sadly, disturbance has massively increased. Boaters are going too close and too fast, causing hundreds of birds to flush off their nests. I continue to remove yards and yards of fishing line from the mangroves when it is safe to do so. Chicks can jump out of nests when scared, leaving them susceptible to high tides and predators. Some fishing line birds fly in after being hooked, which commonly causes mass entanglements in the rookery. I have removed over a dozen injured and deceased birds wrapped in line. Most of the line I remove is attached to hooks directly into the mangrove trees meaning people are fishing into the mangroves and cutting their line. While I compile enough data to encourage signage and potentially promote it to be a critical wildlife area, I am asking the public for help. This summer there are a higher number of nests than ever documented in the past three years.
1. Please give space and politely educate others to give space to the mangroves.
2. Please do not fish into the mangroves and do not ever cut your line.
3. If you accidentally hook a bird, please slowly reel it in and ask for help!
4. Follow the no-wake zone signs in this area.
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