black skimmer (Photo : YouTube)
During Memorial Day Weekend 2015, a small group of volunteer bird watchers will be protecting Florida's coastal birds. The time is when the bird population will reach its highest figures.
The Florida volunteer group is bird-watching the small animals on the state's Anna Maria Island. Audubon Florida distributed a press release on Tuesday that asked the state's beachgoers and boaters to protect the shorebirds during Memorial Day 2015.
Marianne Korosy is a coordinator for Audubon Florida. She said that the year-high number of birds is due to the nesting season of the coastal birds, according to NYC Today.
Korosy also noted that some of the beach birds have given birth to small, fuzzy chicks. The baby birds need protection from the blazing sun and human feet.
Tens of thousands of Floridians and out-of-towners are expected to visit the state's seashores and waterways during the three-day weekend, according to Pensacola News Journal. This creates a critical time for various threatened and endangered bird species.
Audubon's coordinator explained that the upcoming holiday weekend is an "absolutely...wonderful" time to hit the beach. However, the bird conservation group's concern is that people are usually unaware that bird eggs are located on the sand.
Also, most people think that bird nests are always in trees. As a result, shore birds and sea birds laying eggs on the sand are often mistaken as fowl just sitting there.
The Anna Maria Island includes four roped-off nesting colonies in the bird habitat. They protect bird species such as black skimmers and least terns.
A 2009 study found that one-third of United States bird species are endangered. Being mindful of bird nesting sites could save birds throughout the nation this long weekend.
