Beach-nesting birds need your help

Beach-nesting birds need your help

Beach-goers in St. Johns County have probably seen signs recently that say "Protected Bird Site, Area Closed" or "Keep Out, Bird Nesting Area." These signs surround an area on the beach, often associated with sand dunes, and are meant to help protect beach-nesting birds, including the threatened least tern.

Biologists and volunteers are asking people to help these small birds, their eggs and their chicks by staying out of the posted areas until the nesting season is over and the signs are removed.

The St. Johns County Beach-nesting Bird Network (a partnership of federal, state, and local agencies and the St. Johns Audubon Society) have posted these signs in four areas: Porpoise Point, Matanzas Inlet, Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve and Anastasia State Park. When you visit the beach, you may also see volunteers wearing yellow vests with "Bird Steward" printed on the back. These friendly folks are monitoring nesting activities and providing information about the birds to beach-goers.

In early spring, least terns return to Florida from wintering grounds in Central and South America. They soon pair up, using courtship rituals in which hopeful males offer small fish to prospective mates. The seabirds nest in shallow "scrapes" they make on broad expanses of bare sand. Peak nesting season is from mid-May through July in Central Florida, though nesting may continue through August. Adults incubate the eggs for about 21 days. The young leave the nest in a few days, but don't begin to fly until about three weeks later.

Nesting least terns are extremely susceptible to disturbance. The sandy color of the eggs and young birds blends in perfectly with the surrounding sand. This camouflage is a good defense against many natural predators such as crows and laughing gulls. Unfortunately, this strategy backfires when beach-goers unknowingly walk or drive through nesting areas destroying eggs and killing young birds without even knowing it.

Even if colonies are not directly impacted, disturbance near nesting areas can cause adult terns to leave their nests and young to chase away the source of disturbance. If this happens too often, without the shading from an adult, eggs and chicks can overheat and perish in the hot mid-day sun.

Least terns are "colonial" nesters, meaning they nest together in groups. Colonies can range in size from just a handful of birds to hundreds of nests. Colonial nesting provides safety in numbers from aerial predators and may aid birds in finding food in constantly shifting food resources (mainly schools of small fish such as sardines and menhaden). Adult and juvenile least terns likely follow successful foragers back to areas where they are catching fish.

In the past couple of decades, due to habitat loss and disturbance on natural beach-nesting areas, least terns have taken to nesting on flat, gravel roofs. Scientists think perhaps 70 percent of least tern colonies are now on rooftops in Florida. However, these nesting opportunities are disappearing fast as older, flat-roofed buildings are demolished or reconstructed, creating more modern roofs unsuitable for tern nesting. This makes natural mainland beach and barrier island habitats all that more important to least terns.

The beaches in St. Johns County are the most important nesting areas for least terns along the state’s Atlantic Coast.

Least terns are listed as a threatened species and need our help to successfully overcome the many natural and man-made challenges they face.

Beach-goers can help by staying out of posted areas and leaving dogs at home or keeping them on leashes well away from posted areas. Dogs should not be allowed to chase birds. Building owners near the beach can help by accommodating roof-nesting terns rather than getting rid of them. Doing so may help these areas continue to be important breeding sites for least terns for years to come.

Call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) at 352-732-1225 to report nesting birds in areas where colonies have not yet been posted.

Brochures are available from the FWC by calling 352-732-1225 or downloading one at   MyFWC.com/wildlife/BNBBrochure.pdf