Please Tread Lightly -- It’s Nesting Time

Southwest Florida has long been one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the nation. Beautiful weather, the amazing beaches and an array of breathtaking wildlife attract thousands of visitors and new residents to the area each year, particularly during the mild winter months.

However from April through August the sandy barrier island beaches found within the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) attract another type of visitor. Four species of beach-nesting birds, including least terns, black skimmers, snowy plovers and Wilson’s plovers, along with the endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles rely upon Marco’s area beaches, including Sand Dollar Island/Tigertail Beach, Keewaydin Island and the sand bar at Caxambas Pass as nesting habitats.

Least terns and black skimmers nest together in mixed colonies with snowy plovers and Wilson’s plovers nesting nearby. Laying their eggs directly on the sand warrants specific habitat conditions such as wide sand and shell beaches with high enough elevations to avoid storm overwash, sparse vegetation to provide shade but not harbor predators, and minimal disturbance from human activity.

Egg-laden loggerhead and green sea turtles guided by instinct swim thousands of miles in an effort to nest on these very beaches where they hatched decades earlier. Under the cover of darkness, they hoist themselves up the beach to lay their eggs and roughly 60 days later the young emerge and are guided by the natural light back into the sea.

Beaches that meet all of these requirements are becoming increasingly scarce along Florida’s coasts. Many of the locations which provide ideal habitat for beach-nesting birds and sea turtles have either been developed or serve as popular recreation spots for an increasing number of boaters, fishing enthusiasts and campers. The need to balance the competition between wildlife and people is a growing challenge for coastal resource managers but simple measures can create an island community where humans and wildlife can coexist.

Community awareness and support of local management efforts are critical to the reproductive success of beach-nesting species. When visiting one of these beaches, do your part to share the shore with wildlife by taking these precautions:

• Watch where you walk – being careful not to step on eggs or chicks.
• Respect posted areas and keep your distance from resting or nesting birds.
• Observe regulations pertaining to dogs – they are prohibited on some beaches; others have leash laws.
• Keep beaches free of barriers such as beach furniture or toys to accommodate nesting sea turtles.
• Take trash home with you.
• Keep beaches dark – lights out or shielded by 9 p.m.
• If birds appear agitated, take flight or swoop at you, they may be trying to tell you that you are too close to their nest -- heed their warning.

To learn more about the Rookery Bay NERR, visit www.rookerybay.org; to discover Florida’s other aquatic environments go to www.floridadep.org/mainpage/programs/cama.htm.