Co-exist with the birds

A new sign at Manatee Public Beach Park in Holmes Beach explains how to co-exist with nesting shorebirds, the majority of which are black skimmers on Anna Maria Island.

• The black skimmer is found along the Gulf Coast and has solid black upperparts and white underparts, forehead and neck. Its bill is laterally compressed and razor sharp, orange at its base and black at its tip.

• The black skimmer hunts primarily by touch, flying just above the water as its longer lower mandible skims the surface until it meets with a fish and snaps its jaws shut.

• Black skimmers nest in groups called colonies on the beach or on sandy islands with little vegetation. Typically, you will see these colonies above the high tide line along the dune toe or among the dunes beginning in late April and lasting through the beginning of August. Black skimmers are running out of places to nest and raise their young – help them raise their families by sharing the beach and steering clear of posted colonies.

• Black skimmers lay two to three eggs in a nest on the ground. Chicks can walk within hours after hatching but they depend on their parents for food.

• Chicks left unattended are vulnerable to the hot sun and predators.

• Broken wing display – skimmers will fake an injury to lure people and predators away from their nests and young.

• When people or animals get too close to a nesting colony, adult birds will often dive-bomb the intruders as a group, a protective behavior called “mobbing.”

• Shorebirds need a secluded space, and nesting is easily disturbed by the presence of visitors. Obey the signs. Stay back and share the beach.