Coastal Conservation

Gulf Power Foundation Funds New Signs to Protect Birds

Flashing speed signs protect seabird colony.

Audubon began coordinating conservation efforts at the Navarre Beach Causeway seabird-nesting site in 2013 to protect the seabird colony near the busy roadway. In order to keep the local seabirds safe, Audubon works with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Santa Rosa County to reduce the speed limit each year. When the coastal birds begin nesting behavior on the causeway, the Santa Rosa County Public Works department temporarily lowers the speed limit from 35 mph to 20 mph. Drivers did not always adhere to the lower speed limits, citing a lack of awareness of the lower speed limits. 

Audubon began using electronic reader boards and flashing speed signs in 2015 to alert drivers of the nesting birds and reduced speed limits. The reader board and flashing speed signs are a part of a successful strategy Audubon and the local community — and now Gulf Power Foundation — use to ensure the safety and success of the Navarre Beach Causeway seabird colony, decreasing bird mortality by over 80%.

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