The art of courtship...Plight of Least Tern Shore Birds in Florida, page 1
Least Tern birds along the beaches of Sanibel Island, Florida... 3 pages with 8 photos of these
precious shore birds. Odds of the species breeding, faced with people and pets at crowded beaches
are not in their favor. Even where some of their breeding sites are fenced and protected, like along
some beaches in the Northeast, they still have to deal with natural predators like the Night Heron,
Seagulls and Raccoons, to mention only the most obvious. I know of a colony of some dozen nests,
close to Waterford in CT, that lost all hatchlings in one night. It was despair not only for the
parent birds but also for a team of dedicated Rangers and Volunteers...
These precious shore birds are considered a threatened species in Florida. From the end of April
well into May, the male LT has to prove himself a dogged purveyor to gain assent as a mating partner.
Though the female is just as good a hunter/diver, during mating season she gets to insist on certain privileges... For the 3 years that I have been observing this pair (and I cannot be affirmative as to
they're being the same...), I've often wondered why they would try to do their thing on a stretch of
beach which is rather crowded in the spring and where they're often disturbed and disrupted, be it
by kids running or adults not willing to alter their path. Worse, of course, are dogs not restrained
by their masters. Man & pet -at left- were having a ball only a few 100 yards from where the LT's
tried to perform their mating ritual. To succeed they need time and definitely no interference.
When I tried to alert the dog owner to a Sanibel City ordinance, he -like many others- became
aggressive. What to say..? Too bad the community can (or will) do little to enforce their own rules...
The be nice approach may be good for business. It certainly isn't for the birds !
precious shore birds. Odds of the species breeding, faced with people and pets at crowded beaches
are not in their favor. Even where some of their breeding sites are fenced and protected, like along
some beaches in the Northeast, they still have to deal with natural predators like the Night Heron,
Seagulls and Raccoons, to mention only the most obvious. I know of a colony of some dozen nests,
close to Waterford in CT, that lost all hatchlings in one night. It was despair not only for the
parent birds but also for a team of dedicated Rangers and Volunteers...
These precious shore birds are considered a threatened species in Florida. From the end of April
well into May, the male LT has to prove himself a dogged purveyor to gain assent as a mating partner.
Though the female is just as good a hunter/diver, during mating season she gets to insist on certain privileges... For the 3 years that I have been observing this pair (and I cannot be affirmative as to
they're being the same...), I've often wondered why they would try to do their thing on a stretch of
beach which is rather crowded in the spring and where they're often disturbed and disrupted, be it
by kids running or adults not willing to alter their path. Worse, of course, are dogs not restrained
by their masters. Man & pet -at left- were having a ball only a few 100 yards from where the LT's
tried to perform their mating ritual. To succeed they need time and definitely no interference.
When I tried to alert the dog owner to a Sanibel City ordinance, he -like many others- became
aggressive. What to say..? Too bad the community can (or will) do little to enforce their own rules...
The be nice approach may be good for business. It certainly isn't for the birds !
