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Tag: snowy plover

Shorebird survey marks start of season

Shorebird survey marks start of season

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Birds, Outdoors.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Shorebird nesting season is beginning, and a three-day survey of shorebirds on Anna Maria Island beaches shows 38 black skimmers – a threatened species in Florida – preparing to nest.

Local shorebirds – including another threatened species, snowy plovers, have not quite begun their spring nesting, but will soon, said Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Director Suzi Fox, who completed the survey.

Shorebird survey marks start of season
Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Director Suzi Fox has completed a three-day survey of shorebirds on the Island’s beaches. AMITW | Submitted

Skimmers, plovers and other shorebirds scoop out shallow nests in beach sand, making the nests difficult to see and vulnerable to being unknowingly trampled by beachgoers. Volunteers stake out the nesting areas to protect the eggs, chicks and parents.

During bird nesting season, March through August, beachgoers should follow these tips to keep birds safe:

  • Teach kids not to chase birds – bird parents may abandon nests if they are disturbed.
  • Don’t feed birds – it encourages them to fly at people aggressively and is not good for their health.
  • If birds are screeching and flying at you, you’re too close to them.
  • Avoid posted bird nesting areas and use designated walkways to the beach.
  • Keep pets away from bird nesting areas.
  • Never touch a shorebird chick, even if it’s wandering outside a staked nesting area.
  • Keep the beach clean; food scraps attract predators such as raccoons and crows to the beach, and litter can entangle birds and other wildlife.
  • If you see people disturbing nesting birds, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).
bird harassment snowy plover

Bird harassment complaint investigated

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Birds, Outdoors.

HOLMES BEACH – An unidentified woman has frightened two snowy plovers and their three chicks off their nest at 5400 Gulf Drive condos, and they have disappeared, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Director Suzi Fox said.

“It’s a little three-ounce bird. What difference could that make to you?” she said.

Snowy plovers are a threatened species in Florida.

It’s possible the chicks were old enough to fly away, Fox said hopefully, but if they were not yet fledged, they would be easy targets for predators, such as osprey, without parents nearby to protect them.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sent an investigator, but the woman, who was reported to Turtle Watch by anonymous witnesses at Martinique condos next door, eluded detection, she said.

Why would someone chase tiny birds off the beach?

“We suspect it was the woman who accosted us last year,” Fox said, referring to an incident that occurred when Turtle Watch volunteers were staking off a black skimmer nesting area at 5400 Gulf Drive condos in 2017.

“She came out and yelled at us,” Fox said, adding that volunteers always leave a path for people to reach the beach when staking off bird nesting areas.

“And it’s a public beach,” she said, not private property belonging to 5400 Gulf Drive condos.

“We think she just didn’t want any wildlife in her front yard,” Fox said.

The act was a violation of state laws protecting threatened species, and it was also a case of cruelty to animals, Fox said, adding that the witness said the woman struck one of the birds.

Normally Turtle Watch volunteers track at least 11 snowy plovers on the Island, but this year, only the family of five were seen, and they have disappeared, she said.

No other plover nests have appeared on the Island this spring.

“It makes me sick,” Fox said.

snowy plover

Snowy plovers start bird nesting season

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Birds, Outdoors.

HOLMES BEACH – It’s officially bird nesting season – the first snowy plovers, a threatened species in Florida, have made a nest on Anna Maria Island.

The nest is also the first snowy plover nest on the west coast of Florida this year, according to Suzi Fox, director of Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring.

Three pairs of mottled ducks are visiting Bradenton Beach, two more pairs than in previous years, Fox said. The ducks are not expected to nest on the beach.

Bird Tips

During bird nesting season, March through August, please follow these tips:

  • Never touch a shorebird chick, even if it’s wandering outside a staked nesting area.
  • Teach kids not to chase birds. Bird parents may abandon nests if they’re disturbed.
  • Don’t feed birds. It encourages them to fly at people aggressively and is not good for their health.

    Anne Camp
    Anna Camp, a volunteer with Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, stakes out the first shorebird nest of the 2017 season.
  • If birds are screeching and flying at you, you’re too close.
  • Avoid posted bird nesting areas and use designated walkways to the beach.
  • Keep pets away from bird nesting areas.
  • Keep the beach clean. Food scraps attract predators such as raccoons and crows to the beach, and litter can entangle birds and other wildlife.
  • If you see people disturbing nesting birds, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).