Beachgoers asked to be aware of birds

Least terns, Wilson’s plovers nesting on St. Simons Island.

A visitor to Gould’s Inlet thought his eyes were playing tricks on him one recent morning when a couple of seashells on the distant dune started wobbling in the sand.

But a peek through Lydia Thompson’s spotting scope put the mystery adorably into focus, giving the beachgoer a closeup view of two fuzzy white least tern chicks spreading their tiny, downy wings. Thompson had her scope on a tripod set behind the waist-high barrier of yellow rope that separates the nesting grounds in the dunes from the public beach.

“Who wouldn’t want to take care of them when you know how cute they are?” said Thompson, a longtime St. Simons Island resident and protector of the Golden Isles’ shorebirds.

Unfortunately, people and their pet dogs sometimes intrude on the delicate nesting grounds of these least terns and the Wilson’s plovers that also nest there, she said. Thompson and wildlife biologists with the state Department of Natural Resources are particularly concerned about the potential damage to nesting grounds when residents and visitors alike flock to the beach to stake their place in the sun for the Fourth of July holiday.

Most everyone who comes to the beach knows to give the nesting shorebirds the space they need to raise a family, said Tim Keyes, a DNR wildlife biologist who specializes in shorebirds. But just one wayward human could cause significant damage to the nesting grounds in the dunes. Likewise, a pet dog that strays into the nesting area also could wreak havoc.

“Just one person, or a dog, up in the middle of the (bird nesting) colony could cause so much damage,” Keyes said.

Least terns and Wilson’s plovers are now in the peak of their nesting season, which runs from May 8 until Aug. 19. That is the time the DNR ropes off the nesting areas, giving the birds the space needed to flourish. With his trained eye, Keyes stood behind the ropes and pointed out several least tern and Wilson’s plover nesting sites in just a short stretch of the dune. Some of the bird pairs are still incubating, while others are hovering over young chicks still testing their wings. The birds’ nests are no bigger than a child’s heel print.

Higher than normal tides and predators such as raccoons and foxes take enough of a toll, Keyes said. Intrusion by humans and the pets they are responsible for controlling could and should be avoided, he said.

“We think it’s great that this is one of the most popular beaches on the Georgia coast,” Keyes said. “But please pay attention to the colony and stay off of the dunes.”