Wildlife 101 FOR THE Workforce PART II SHOREBIRDS

Nesting Seabirds Black Skimmer Least Tern The above species are currently Sarasota County's only known nesting seabirds. Both species are threatened due to nesting habitat lost. They need open beach to nest and nest in colonies of 50 to 600 individuals. Once eggs are laid incubation takes days to hatch and then 20-25days till chicks are flight capable. Meanwhile the chicks stay near or in nests and are fed by parent birds.

Black Skimmer Nesting Colony The current practice when nesting colonies are found is to post & rope off the area to keep people from trampling on eggs or chicks in shallow sand depressions(nests). As well human recreational activities near nesting colonies can cause abandonment and should be discouraged. If you are near a posted nesting colony and either species starts flying at you then you are too close to eggs or chicks.

If ATV use is needed near these nesting colonies drive close to the shore and slowly when possible. As chicks age or they are crowded out they will begin to venture outside the posted areas and wait to be fed & rest.

Nesting Shorebirds Wilson’s Plovers 220 Pairs ??? Pairs Snowy Plover For Sarasota County Snowy Plovers are the most common of the two plover species to be found nesting. Incubation for plover eggs is days and flight capability of chicks is days.

Snowy Plover nest These species of shorebirds are solitary nesters and make a shallow depression in the sand typically near sparse vegetation or shell debris in the back beach areas. Again when a nest is found it is posted & roped.

Snowy Plover chicks with brooding adults Posted nest site The difference between these shorebirds' young and the young of seabirds is that the plover chicks are self feeding which means they do not stay in posted areas after hatching but are roving the beach from shoreline to back beach looking for insects under the watchful eye of parent birds. If an adult plover flies over to you and pretends to have a broken wing then you are either too close to it's eggs or chicks.

Week old Snowy Plover chick foraging

Week old Snowy Plover chick

If vandalism to posted nesting sites is observed please contact parks & recreation.

Besides the nesting shorebirds other shorebirds to be aware of are the migratory shorebirds that winter here and migrate through requiring places to rest undisturbed when possible. Please when using ATVs try to navigate around them when possible. Some of these migratory shorebirds travel 1000s of miles during migration. Flock of Migratory Shorebirds

In ending this segment of the Wildlife 101 in the workforce please if an injured bird is found Please call Save Our Seabirds at or Wildlife Rehab. of Venice at for assistances.