The shorebird babies are here!
Anna Maria Island may be a few weeks away from seeing sea turtle hatchlings emerge, but the shorebird chicks, including least terns, black skimmers and snowy plovers, have begun arriving.
Hatchlings are popping up on island beaches at two nesting sites on the shore: the Anna Maria Island Club, 2600 Gulf Drive N., and just north of the Beachhouse Restaurant, 200 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach.
Parent birds tend their nest for about three weeks before the hatchlings emerge. It takes three additional weeks for the birds to learn to fly. Black skimmer chicks need a little more time before they’re ready to leave the nest to learn fishing skills from their parents.
Before these new chicks grow enough to stretch their wings and fly, they stay in or near nesting areas. Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring keeps the surrounding area — the buffer — roped off with signs to deter beachgoers from entering and scaring the birds, which potentially can cause them to leave eggs and vulnerable chicks open to predators and the sun, which can “cook” an egg in about 10 minutes, according to AMITW volunteer Glenn Wiseman.
To further protect the hatchlings, AMITW has placed wooden pallets in the sand for shade at the nesting sites. Executive director Suzi Fox said as the summer days grow hotter, observers may also see the adult birds in the shade under the pallets.
Visitors to island beaches where shorebird nesting sites are located are greeted with bright yellow signs encouraging them to be careful to avoid stepping on chicks that wander outside the marked nesting site and caution them about getting too close to nests and birds. According to Fox, as the chicks age, they begin wandering from the nesting area to the surf.
Beachgoers who encounter a nesting site should refrain from making loud noises or getting too close to the area. People should not enter the nesting areas. Any of these behaviors could scare the birds and cause them to abandon their nests.
One of the concerns facing AMITW volunteers is the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. Fireworks on or near nesting areas can scare birds into abandoning the area. “It’ll be a challenge,” Fox said.
For the holiday weekend, bird stewards will be deployed near nesting areas to educate beachgoers about the birds and nesting sites.
“We’ve got a good team. The birds know us. We have a really healthy, good colony,” Fox said.