Geodataset Name:       CARACARA_OBS_APR09
Geodataset Type:       SHAPEFILE
Geodataset Feature:    Point
Feature Count:         844

DATA SOURCE(S):                    United States Fish and Wildlife Service - South Florida Ecological Services Office
SCALE OF ORIGINAL SOURCE MAPS:     N/A
GEODATASET EXTENT:                 State of Florida

PUBLICATION DATE:                  20090421
TIME PERIOD OF CONTENT:            Begin Date: 1992    End Date: 20090407
DOWNLOAD LINK:                     http://www.fgdl.org/metadataexplorer/explorer.jsp

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES:

Datafile Name: CARACARA_OBS_APR09.DBF

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES CODES AND VALUES:

Item	Item Description
OBJECTID	Internal feature number.
Shape	Feature geometry.
SPECIES	Species Name.
COMMONNAME	Species Common Name.
OBS_YEAR	Observation Year.
OBS_DATE	Observation Date.
TYPE	Observation Type (Nest, Observation, Capture).
STATUS	Status of Observation (Active).
NEST	Nest Count.
CRCA_AGE	Age of Caracara.
COUNTY	County Name.
OBSERVER	Observer Name.
SOURCETHM	Source layer or Individual.
NOTES	Notes.
LONG_	No description
LAT	Latitude
DESCRIPT	Based on Common Name.
FGDLAQDATE	The date FGDL acquired the data from the Source.
AUTOID	Unique ID added by GeoPlan

USER NOTES:

This data is provided 'as is'. GeoPlan relied on the integrity of the original data layer's topology

This data is provided 'as is' by GeoPlan and is complete to our knowledge.

GeoPlan relied on the integrity of the attribute information within the original data.

Audubon's Crested Caracara (Polyborus plancus audubonii (=Caracara cheriway audubonii)) (caracara) Audubon's crested caracara is a large, boldly patterned raptor, with a crest and unusually long legs. It is a resident, diurnal, and non-migratory species that occurs in Florida as well as the southwestern U.S. and Central America. In Florida, this species is found in the prairie area of the south-central region of the state. The subspecies is no longer present at its type locality, which is near St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida. Only the Florida population, which is isolated from the remainder of the subspecies in the southwestern U.S. and Central America, is listed under the Endangered Species Act. Although no management activities have been undertaken for the U.S. population of this species, draft habitat management guidelines are being developed that should aid in the caracaras recovery. This account represents a revision of the existing recovery plan for the Audubons crested caracara (FWS 1989). Crested Caracara is a resident of the prairies and range lands of south-central Florida. About the size of an osprey, this boldly patterned raptor has a crest, naked face, heavy bill and longish neck and legs. A member of the falcon family, the caracara is a strong flier but spends a lot of time on the ground, scratching or digging for insects, or hunting around shallow ponds or marshes for turtles, snakes, frogs or fish. Caracaras occasionally eat larger animals such as rabbits and cattle egrets and a pair will sometimes work together to subdue these larger prey. Caracaras may also be spotted on fence posts or utility poles along highways where they scan roadways for roadkilled raccoons, opossums or armadillos. At one time, caracaras were common in the prairies of central Florida, but their numbers declined as favored habitat was converted to housing developments, citrus groves and improved pastures. Today, both the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service list the caracara as Threatened. This species is most abundant in a six-county area north and west of Lake Okeechobee (DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Okeechobee and Osceola counties). Their stronghold is privately held ranch land, and biologists are working with landowners to better understand the needs of caracaras and the many wild animals dependent on these upland prairies.

To document nest site and observation locations of crested caracaras in Florida.

This data is provided 'as is' and its horizontal positional accuracy has not been verified by GeoPlan

This data is provided 'as is' and its vertical positional accuracy has not been verified by GeoPlan

NONE

The Florida Geographic Data Library is a collection of Geospatial Data compiled by the University of Florida GeoPlan Center with support from the Florida Department of Transportation. GIS data available in FGDL is collected from various state, federal, and other agencies (data sources) who are data stewards, producers, or publishers. The data available in FGDL may not be the most current version of the data offered by the data source. University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no guarantees about the currentness of the data and suggests that data users check with the data source to see if more recent versions of the data exist. Furthermore, the GIS data available in the FGDL are provided 'as is'. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no warranties, guaranties or representations as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the data provided by the data sources. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no representations or warranties about the quality or suitability of the materials, either expressly or implied, including but not limited to any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center shall not be liable for any damages suffered as a result of using, modifying, contributing or distributing the materials. A note about data scale: Scale is an important factor in data usage. Certain scale datasets are not suitable for some project, analysis, or modeling purposes. Please be sure you are using the best available data. 1:24000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the county level. 1:24000 data should NOT be used for high accuracy base mapping such as property parcel boundaries. 1:100000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the multi-county or regional level. 1:125000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the regional or state level or larger. Vector datasets with no defined scale or accuracy should be considered suspect. Make sure you are familiar with your data before using it for projects or analysis. Every effort has been made to supply the user with data documentation. For additional information, see the References section and the Data Source Contact section of this documentation. For more information regarding scale and accuracy, see our webpage at: http://geoplan.ufl.edu/education.html

REFERENCES:

Audubon s Crested Caracara http://www.fws.gov/verobeach/images/pdflibrary/acca.PDF http://www.fws.gov/verobeach/index.cfm?method=programs&NavProgramCategoryID=3&programid=84&ProgramCategoryID=3 Audubon's Crested caracara Species Profile http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=B06Q USFWS South Florida Ecological Services Office http://www.fws.gov/verobeach/

DATA LINEAGE SUMMARY:

GeoPlan received the data in December 2009 from the USFWS South Florida Ecological Services Office. http://www.fws.gov/verobeach/ - The data was in the FGDL Albers projected coordinate system. - Renamed the dataset from caracara-nest_&_observations.shp to caracara_obs_apr09.shp - Upcased all fields. - Added a SPECIES field based on the scientific species name. - Added a COMMONNAME field based on the common name of the species. - Added a DESCRIPT field based on the common name of the species. - Added FGDLAQDATE based on date FGDL acquired the data. Process Date: 20101103 Data imported to ArcSDE and exported as a shapefile. Process Date: 20101118

MAP PROJECTION PARAMETERS:

Projection                          ALBERS
Datum                               HPGN
Units                               METERS
Spheroid                            GRS1980
1st Standard Parallel               24  0  0.000
2nd Standard Parallel               31 30  0.000
Central Meridian                   -84 00  0.000
Latitude of Projection's Origin     24  0  0.000
False Easting (meters)              400000.00000
False Northing (meters)             0.00000

DATA SOURCE CONTACT (S):

Name:
Abbr. Name:
Address:


Phone:

Web site:
E-mail:
Contact Person:
         Phone:
        E-mail:

United States Fish and Wildlife Service - South Florida Ecological Services Office
USFWS
1339 20th Street
Vero Beach, FL
32960
(772) 562-3909


http://www.fws.gov/verobeach/
steven_glass.fws.gov
Steve Glass

Name:                   FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY
Abbr. Name:             FGDL
Address:                Florida Geographic Data Library
                        431 Architecture Building
                        PO Box 115706
                        Gainesville, FL  32611-5706
Web site:               http://www.fgdl.org

Contact FGDL: 

      Technical Support:	        http://www.fgdl.org/fgdlfeed.html
      FGDL Frequently Asked Questions:  http://www.fgdl.org/fgdlfaq.html
      FGDL Mailing Lists:		http://www.fgdl.org/fgdl-l.html
      For FGDL Software:                http://www.fgdl.org/software.html