SANIBEL, Fla. — Least terns, recognized as a threatened species by the state of Florida, have had their most successful nesting season on the Sanibel Causeway since the 1990s.
During the peak of nesting this summer, there were 142 least terns nests being incubated, and 114 chicks in the colony. In mid-June, 30 black skimmers joined the colony.
METEOROLOGIST ANDREW SHIPLEY SPOKE WITH THE SANIBEL CAPTIVA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF THE NESTING SEASON:
"So, that is on just one day. So, you know if there were that many chicks, there were that many nests. It is kind of hard to get a count because they are laying nests over a period of time and hatching over a period of time," Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation biologist Audrey Albrecht said.
Both least terns and black skimmers have nested on the causeway since the 1960s, when the causeway was first built. Albrecht says over time, those nests were no longer habitable because of traffic.
"In look at old newspaper articles and actually talking to some of the folks here, who were there then. A lot of them were being run over. Those chicks are highly mobile once they hatch," Albrecht said. "With that knowledge, we were able to put up fencing to prevent the chicks from being able to reach the road."
With the causeway being rebuilt after Hurricane Ian, it became a blank canvas of open sand, and the birds had their first successful nests since 1993.
"The habitat of the causeway changed quite a bit prior to the hurricane. The was a lot of trees and vegetation. They really like big, open sandy beaches. So as soon those islands started to be rebuilt it became appealing to them again," Albrecht said.
And this past May, the shorebirds returned again before the causeway was even open to the public.
"Unfortunately, the birds don't know the difference between the parking lot and the beach. It looks very similar. So, they laid eggs," Albrecht said.
But with SCCF's help, the birds were given a safe spot to care for their young and away from beachgoers.
"One thing, they would come and look through our spotting scopes and see how cute the chicks are...it was awesome to see people experience that for the first time," Albrecht said.
SCCF expects the birds to come back again next nesting season. The hope is the nests will be a little further away from the parking lot, let alone the busy road.
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