It’s not our coast, or their coast; it’s everyone’s coast. Photo: Dan Dzurisin
I grew up surfing on the North Carolina coast, and at every spare moment I was in the water. Having the coast as my playground is what instilled a deep respect for the ocean and coastal wildlife in me, and it’s what got me started in marine biology and conservation.
Spending so much time in the water and on the beach, I began to notice the rhythms of the coast. The same fronts that produced good surf in the fall brought migrant shorebirds from the Arctic. The warmth of spring brought terns and skimmers that returned to the beaches where they would nest and raise their chicks.
Shorebirds are the small guys that probe for food in the wet sand. They include species such as oystercatchers, plovers, knots, sanderlings, sandpipers and more. Every spring, more than 20 million shorebirds migrate through the United States to nest as far north as the Arctic each summer, and they return back to North Carolina or as far south as South America to spend the winter. Some species fly more than 15,000 miles round trip each year in this strenuous long-distance intercontinental trek. Terns are the silver-winged aerial acrobats that include several species like least, common, and gull-billed, all with the propensity to dive-bomb intruders that venture too close to nesting areas. Black skimmers, on the other hand, are black above and white below with a unique razor thin bill, the upper part shorter than the lower and designed perfectly for slicing through the water. The terns and skimmers are social nesters and nest together in groups called colonies. Unlike most birds, they nest out in the open, on the bare sandy beach, on the same sand that will scorch your feet on a hot summer day.
These birds share something in common: they need beaches.
Coastal beaches provide essential feeding, resting and nesting areas for birds that have adapted over thousands of years to life on a dynamic coast. What people should be aware of is that those cute, tiny shorebirds scurrying along the shoreline are literally foraging for their lives. Migration is an arduous and dangerous journey for birds, but it is necessary. Many don’t make it back to their nesting areas. Those fussy terns dive-bombing you are saying you are too close to their nesting areas, and their eggs or chicks may be baking in the sun while they try to drive you away.
Be a good neighbor. They need our help. Photo: Wikimedia
This leads us to a commonly asked question. Why are some areas of the beach temporarily closed off to the public in the first place?
Temporary protected zones are necessary to give birds a safe area to tend their eggs and raise their chicks without the threat of human disturbance. Disturbance during the nesting season is one of the greatest threats to coastal birds. When disturbed, parents leave their nests, which leaves their eggs and chicks exposed to extreme temperatures and predators, both of which are deadly. Disturbance for foraging shorebirds jeopardizes their ability to find enough food to sustain them during their long migrations. Without protected areas and appropriate buffers to prevent disturbance, the birds fail. Even if nesting sites are posted but driving is allowed around nesting areas, half the number of chicks survive and the number drops below the threshold to sustain populations. Small chicks trying to get to the cool, wet sand are crushed along the way or when they get trapped in tire tracks.
For birds, the option of moving to other areas no longer exists along most of the coast because for decades, coastal birds have been pushed away from habitats where they once thrived. We’ve taken most of the places where they once nested and rendered others unsuitable with structures, rock walls, and just the sheer number of people on the coast. Many coastal birds are now confined to a fraction of the area where they once prospered and can’t simply go somewhere else. This doesn’t mean that we should exclude people from beaches. We can coexist as long as the desires of people are balanced with the needs of wildlife. We just need to give the birds a little room.
At the National Audubon Society, I lead the Sharing Our Seas and Shores program for the Atlantic Flyway. It is a conservation program focused on protecting key sites for coastal birds. The program combines the best available science and proven, site-based conservation actions to recover and sustain populations of coastal birds while engaging people who visit and enjoy the coast.
By taking simple steps and paying a little more attention to our habits and routines, each of us can have a significant impact as soon as today. You can make a huge difference by staying out of nesting areas, picking up your trash, avoiding startling the foraging shorebirds, and keeping your dog on a leash.
It is important for us all to share the beach with birds and respect their needs. Their lives depend on it. Not only do birds add the quality of life and aesthetics along the coast, their presence supports local economies through tourism. Birds were here long before we were, and they have always moved aside to accommodate us. The least we can do is return the favor.
To find out more about Sharing Our Seas and Shores and other society initiatives, visit Audubon.org.
