Beaches in southwest Florida provide many opportunities for recreation. From relaxing and sunbathing to picnicking and beachcombing, we humans find peace and enjoyment when surrounded by sun- speckled sand and gently lapping Gulf waves.
For many non-humans, however, the beach is much more important than just a day of fun in the sun. Least terns, Sterna antillarum, are one of several species of coastal birds that come to our beaches for survival. Arriving in March or early April from their winter homes as far away as South America, least terns rely on beaches in Florida and other coastal states as crucial nesting habitat.
Least terns don’t make nests of twigs in trees, but instead scrape shallow depressions in the sand. Tiny, cryptically-colored eggs are laid in the scrape nest, and the parent birds serve as the eggs’ and young’s only protection against the heat, rain, and wind. Specific nesting requirements include beaches with sparse, low vegetation that won’t harbor predators, and nearby overwash areas that provide ample food – fish.
With more and more competition with humans for space on the beach, least tern populations are in decline. They are listed as a Threatened species, and are also protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
This week, as arriving least terns begin their nesting process, land managers working in cooperation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are closing off parts of area beaches to enable least terns and their allies to nest in peace. In many cases, the beach is still accessible, but suitable nesting habitat above the high water mark and beyond the dune are roped off with signs and flagging to keep beach goers away from potentially active nest sites.
Residents and visitors of beaches From Marco Island to Sanibel and beyond can expect to see some closures in areas being used by least terns and other beach nesting birds from April through August.
Before you plan your next trip to the beach, check out the Florida Shorebird Alliance website to make sure you know which locations are posted.
Also consider these guidelines to help you share the shore:
- Avoid posted areas
- Leave your dog at home or onboard your boat
- Take back your trash
- If a bird dive bombs your head, you are too close to its nest
For more information on least terns, visit the Florida Breeding Bird Atlas.
Comments
I've been coming to vacation on this beach since 1994. Every year! Initially as a single adult, then as a young wife and now as a wife and mother of two children. I am very dissappointed that the FL Wildlife Cons., Audobon Society and Biologists have seen fit to remove 90% of the beach for the Plovers and Terns. We are told they are endangered and threatened but my research has found that this is only true in other, far-away parts of the US. Interior lakes and NY, respectively. The coastal Least Terns Federal level of concern is "least concern"! I'm angry that my morning walks (very close to the water line) are still interfered with dive bombing by the birds and I'm sad that my children will not be able to play football or frisbee in the sand. Forget about sand castles...I don't want my children digging in feces from some of the most disease carrying creatures on earth! I am now a bird hater & will not plan to come to the beaches of Ft Myers ever again. Neither will my friend
1. Some of us have been here for a lot longer than 1994 and have no problems respecting our fellow creatures. As for the terns and plovers, they were nesting here when the first white explorers came to SW Florida.
2. Check a map: 90% is a gross overstatement. People still have access to the vast majority of beaches--and for the vast majority of the year, there are no postings.
3. Check your sources (myfwc.com/bba/species.htm). The Least Tern and the Snowy Plover are threatened species in the state of Florida. The Snowy Plover's numbers have been steadily decreasing over the past several decades. Both species are federally endangered in other parts of their range--thus the better to protect the ones we do have here.
4. Your kids won't catch a disease from guano. Birds dive-bomb to protect eggs and chicks. Good for the birds! Your kids can move away from the colony to play.
5. The beaches of SW Florida don't need haters like you polluting them! And stay out of Collier too!
Go Addy Dog - you got it right!
I take my kids and their friends out every year to see the nesting birds & turtles and their young. Every year there are more people, many ill-informed and overly self-entitled like Ms. McCoy, and fewer wildlife and wild places.
We need more conservationists and more "vocal locals" like Addy Dog to speak up for the creatures we share this paradise with.
Ms. McCoy - I'd also like to point out that research shows that water and sand quality is healthier in areas with natural habitat with less human-related disturbances than crowded and overdeveloped, polluted beaches. Nesting birds are a sign of a HEALTHY beach - you've got it backwards!
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