By Sarah Cantwell and Sarah Manning, Birds Georgia
America’s 250th birthday isn’t the only thing being celebrated this weekend – we’re celebrating birds! Seabird and shorebird chicks are incubating, hatching, and fledging all along Georgia’s coast.
We’re monitoring their success on one of Georgia’s protected bird islands, Cumberland Dividings Bird Island in Camden County. This is great news following last year’s low hatching numbers and high predation rate.
Thanks to the newly updated Bird Island Rule and predator control on the island, this year’s birds are having more success than ever, with more than 50 Least Tern chicks already hatched and over 120 more about to hatch.
With funding from the Georgia Ornithological Society (GOS), we have been making weekly trips to census the island, counting all nests, eggs, chicks, and adults from May through September. So far, Least Terns, Gull-billed Terns, Black Skimmers, and Wilson’s Plovers have all successfully hatched chicks.
Once hatched, it takes roughly three or four weeks for the terns and skimmers to fledge. During this period, they are unable to fly and are completely reliant on their parents. This is a vulnerable time and why it’s important to give not just nesting birds space, but also young birds throughout the summer and fall.
Thanks to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’s Wildlife Resources Division coastal bird team, the chicks on Cumberland Dividings and other bird islands have wooden chick shelters to help keep them safe from sun exposure, heat, and predators during their most vulnerable stage.
Cumberland Dividings is one of the islands in the state designated as a “Bird Island” under the newly updated Bird Island rule. This rule protects islands, bars, and spits critical to shorebirds and seabirds that use the small, open sites to nest, raise chicks, forage, and find refuge. The rule protects these sensitive birds in these critical areas from March-October and prohibits human disturbance during this time, and dogs all the time. Even unintended disturbances by people or pets can cause scores of nests to fail and put birds at risk.
The islands that are protected by this updated rule include: Little Tybee Island Natural Area, Ogeechee Bar, St. Catherines Island Bar Natural Area, Little Egg Island Bar Natural Area, Brunswick Bird Island, Satilla River Marsh Island Natural Area, and the Cumberland Dividings Bird Island.
As summer heats up and you think about recreating on Georgia’s barrier islands and sandy beaches, remember to share the shore and obey all signs and posted areas. When birds are disturbed from their nests, their eggs and chicks are exposed to danger from extreme temperatures and predators. Walking on the wet sand or below the tide line helps prevent disturbing sensitive species.
There is a network of wonderful volunteers patrolling the beaches during the holiday weekend to help keep the birds and nests safe, organized through the Georgia Shorebird Alliance.
Interested in helping protect Georgia’s beach nesting birds? Manomet Conservation Sciences is looking for volunteers to join the Georgia Coastal Bird Ambassador program on Tybee Island and St. Simons Island.
Coastal Bird Ambassadors spend a few hours on the beach walking important nesting areas, talking with visitors, answering questions, and sharing simple, positive ways we can all help shorebirds and seabirds thrive along Georgia’s coast. Volunteers also encourage wildlife-friendly recreation by reminding beachgoers to keep dogs on a leash and give birds the space they need to rest, feed, and raise their young.
No birding experience is required, and volunteers receive a short online training, a guided bird walk, and all the resources they need to get started. If you’d like to get involved, email Allie at ahayser@manomet.org to learn more about upcoming training and volunteer opportunities.
You can help the birds in other ways, too.
Be attentive to birds! Even if you are outside a posted area, if birds are swooping, acting agitated, or feigning a broken wing, you’re too close! Move back and let them settle down. If you feel the need to recreate with your furry pet, make sure to follow all dog ordinances. It’s always best practice to keep dogs on leashes and away from feeding or nesting birds, even good dogs look like predators to birds. Our good friends at Manomet Conservation Sciences always say: “Wildlife-friendly beaches have dogs on leashes!” Lastly, pick up trash and never feed the birds! Food waste can attract predators like crows, gulls, and raccoons to already sensitive areas.
We hope you enjoy your holiday weekend at the beach, and remember the feathered residents, too. Share the Shore!
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