Beach Babies~

 
A Least Tern parent feeding its chick near St. Augustine, Florida.
Picture credit: Craig O’Neal

For this upcoming Memorial Day weekend holiday, Florida Audubon is advising and warning the public to be aware of the plethora of birdlife that will be on our many Beaches.
This weekend kicks off the Summer Beach Season here and there will be thousands of people and birds, out on our lovely, luscious and most inviting warm sandy beaches.
But please do be advised, the Beaches are already occupied with many of  Florida’s newest wildlife citizens.
On any given beach right now, you will find a delightful array of nests and/or baby birds, eager to make their first journey.
Any disturbance right now that causes a mother to abandon her nest, could prove fatal to her chicks or eggs.
Audubon has just sent out an email press release, asking each of us to:
“Keep an eye out for Florida’s original “beach babies.”
The young and the newborns that will be found all over Florida’s beaches right now, are exceptionally vulnerable to any and all risks that they may encounter like: children, pets, cars and other!
This weekend would be a perfect opportunity to teach your little ones about our wonderful Florida wildlife and how and why, we must take great precautions around them.
So, on this prequel to a wonderful new summer in the  Sunshine State  this weekend, let us all be aware that we must share the Beaches with these brand new babies to assure that they will grow up and come back next year, to make even more “Beach Babies!”
 
Places to learn more:
Audubon Asks You to Protect Coastal Birds this Memorial Day Weekend
Bird nesting season, beach season collide
Watch out for beach-nesting birds