Sign Up Now to Save Lives This Summer

The article is about a bird nesting medium issue that was started by volunteers from St. Petersburg Audubon Society to protect beach-nesting birds from the activities of human beings enjoying themselves on the beaches. The volunteer society has grown up to hundreds of people willing to protect nature from human destruction. The article calls for volunteers to sign up for its training program for the preparation of this summer as more people are expected to flock the beaches of Florida. Their new volunteers will become part of the team that will ensure that the beach-nesting is protected during the summer, so the birds continue to flourish in large numbers.

The most disturbing factor in the article is that the peak season of human activities during summer in the beaches of Florida coincides with the peak season of beach-nesting in the same beaches. This means that there will be a collision between the merry-makers enjoying themselves in the beaches and the beach birds trying to nest their chicks and eggs. For this reason, more bird stewards are needed in the beaches to show beachgoers the nesting areas for the birds so that they can avoid disturbing them. Holley Short, the manager for Audubon Florida, stated that “I’m comfortable saying that some of these chicks would not survive if it weren’t for stewards” (Parsons, 2020). The statement is precise because the nests are tiny and camouflaged in the sand to protect them from predators. This makes it difficult for beachgoers to notice them, and hence, they end up scaring away the birds from their nests. When the mother birds are frequently scared away from their nests, the eggs or small chicks are exposed to the scorching summer sun, which is dangerous for both the eggs and chicks. Some eggs rot, and some chicks die. Therefore, there is a need for volunteers to protect the beach-nesting during this summer season.

The most promising factor in the article is that the birds’ stewards being asked to sign up for volunteer services in the beaches require no level of experience or expertise in bird keeping. Anyone willing to protect birds in an urban setting can sign up and get trained for the nobble service to nature. The manager of the society states that “We provide all the information they’ll need, including brochures and photographs of the birds and their chicks” (Parsons, 2020). His statement is an indication that nothing else is needed apart from availing oneself for the training after signing up. All the necessary information required regarding beach-nesting is provided during the training. Therefore, the article urges any willing person to sign up for volunteer services during the summer season. The beachgoers may not understand the importance of giving space to beach-nesting birds to successfully take care of their eggs and chicks. The volunteers will be equipped with the necessary knowledge to educate the beachgoers on the significance of giving the beach-nesting birds a peaceful time to breed.

The alert level of the issue is medium, which means it is becoming a problem. This is because some beaches in the region, such as the busy St. Pete Beach is the home to the second-largest population black skimmers in the country. These birds are facing threats of extinction and therefore need extra protection for successful breeding. Other imperilled birds in the Florida beaches include Oystercatchers and snowy plovers in Tamba Bay beaches (Maslo et al., 2016). For this reason, the issue is becoming a problem that needs addressing.

References

Maslo, B., Schlacher, T. A., Weston, M. A., Huijbers, C. M., Anderson, C., Gilby, B. L. & Schoeman, D. S. (2016). Regional drivers of clutch loss reveal important trade-offs for beach-nesting birds. PeerJ, 4, e2460.

Parsons, V. (2020). Sign up now to save lives this summer. http://baysoundings.com/sign-up-now-to-save-lives-this-summer/