Southwest Florida

This year, we saw more Black Skimmers and Least Terns nesting at Second Chance Critical Wildlife Area and Carlos Pointe Beach. Even though Hurricane Debby caused significant losses of nests and chicks at Second Chance, 600 Black Skimmers fledged 150 chicks. Least Terns fledged 100 chicks from 168 nests—60 more than last year—before the colony overwashed during Debby. At nearby Caxambas Pass Critical Wildlife Area, a successful Black Skimmer colony produced 56 fledged chicks for the first time in nearly seven years. Carlos Pointe Beach supported a colony with 1,333 adult Black Skimmers and 418 adult Least Terns, resulting in 231 Black Skimmer and 200 Least Tern fledglings despite losses caused by storm surge from Tropical Storm Debby. Snowy Plovers, however, experienced reduced nesting success on Fort Myers Beach, with only six fledged chicks across the area. Wilson’s Plovers continued to do well, with 11 chicks fledged on Fort Myers Beach and 19 fledged across various Collier County sites. 

Tampa Bay Region

Great news! Thanks to predation management and partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Least Tern colony on South Lido Key produced 140 fledged chicks. Additionally, Fort De Soto Park continues to be a productive nesting site: Staff recorded multiple Wilson’s Plover fledges, one Snowy Plover fledge, and three American Oystercatcher fledges from nests at the park. Staff are also seeing a rise in nesting attempts by Snowy Plovers, which speaks to the successful habitat management at the park. Black Skimmer colonies (four in Pinellas and Sarasota counties) produced a total of 665 fledged chicks. These colonies experienced overwash from Tropical Storm Debby in August, ending the season a little earlier than expected. 

Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries

Unfortunately, it was a difficult year for nesting at these islands sites in Tampa Bay—not due to storms, but from both predation and human disturbance. The Alafia Banks Bird Sanctuary, leased from and managed in collaboration with the Mosaic Company and Port Tampa Bay, which hosted 6,000 breeding pairs last year, only saw 500 pairs this year across nine species. Wood Stork colonies across the region were down, and Audubon staff continue to investigate possible causes, but bright spots appeared for other species. While the first colony abandoned Ann and Rich Paul Little Bird Key at the beginning of the season, herons eventually returned for a second round of nesting, including two pairs of Reddish Egrets and more than 20 pairs of Tricolored Herons. 

Rooftop Nesting

It was another busy rooftop season in the Tampa Bay region, with 22 active rooftops in Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough, and Sarasota counties. Staff recorded seven American Oystercatcher pairs with seven fledged chicks, three Black Skimmer colonies, 12 Least Tern colonies, and five Killdeer pairs. To keep the chicks safe, the Audubon team and volunteers installed and maintained 4,000 feet of chick fencing and 150 chick shelters. In exciting news, we partnered with Beth Forys, PhD, from Eckerd College to band a Black Skimmer chick that fell from a roof—successfully returning the young bird to the colony. This is only the second rooftop Black Skimmer chick ever banded! 

Panhandle

Across the Florida Panhandle, Audubon staff monitored nests of Caspian, Royal, Sandwich, Least, Gull-billed, and Sooty Terns; as well as Laughing Gulls, Black Skimmers, Brown Pelicans, American Oystercatchers, Wilson’s Plovers, and Snowy Plovers. In the eastern Panhandle, American Oystercatchers had a successful season, fledging chicks from three remote islands. At Tyndall Air Force Base, monitored in partnership with the FWC, nine Snowy Plovers and 27 Wilson’s Plover chicks successfully left the beach. Farther west, the Navarre Beach colony saw 150 Least Tern chicks and 50 Black Skimmers successfully fledge. Meanwhile, Panhandle rooftops hosted Least Terns on 10 sites—an important contribution to the population that should not be overlooked. Beach-nesting birds in the Panhandle were mostly unaffected by the hurricanes that caused storm surge and overwash along the peninsular Gulf Coast. 

Northeast Florida

Beach-nesting birds at Huguenot Memorial Park had a good season, producing more than 1,000 new Royal Terns, thousands of Laughing Gulls, 100-plus Brown Pelicans and a few dozen Sandwich Terns. Nesting was difficult, however, for colonial birds at Little Talbot Island given the reshaped nesting areas caused by erosion and deposition, but Wilson's Plovers had another good year at the site. Amelia Island was more productive than usual, thanks to some additional sand and great stewarding, with three dozen Least Terns fledging as well as some Wilson’s Plovers. At Anastasia State Park, where the beach was somewhat diminished, Least Terns still fledged more than 100 chicks, plus staff recorded 12 successful nests by Black Skimmers and Wilson’s Plovers. Julia's Island has continued to erode. As this important spot was unsuccessful this year, Audubon is supporting efforts to restore the island. Fort Matanzas had their largest colony in years, fledging around 50 Least Terns. Summer Haven, a dynamic site that is filling in again with new sand, had at least 40 Least Terns fledge. 

This article originally appeared in the 2024 Winter Naturalist.