This holiday weekend, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is sharing the reminder that nesting season is still underway for our state’s imperiled sea turtles, shorebirds, seabirds and wading birds.

Anyone spending time along our shorelines can help with nesting success for both sea turtles and waterbirds by giving them space, keeping beaches clean and dark, and leaving personal fireworks at home.

Florida’s beaches are critical spring and summer nesting habitat for several species of federally threatened and endangered sea turtles, including loggerhead, leatherback, and green sea turtles, with occasional nesting by federally endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles.

Many coastal habitats – including beaches, spoil islands, small islands and shell rakes – are important for imperiled shorebirds and seabirds, such as black skimmers, least terns, snowy plovers and American oystercatchers. Mangrove islands off the coast also provide important nesting and roosting habitat for colonies of wading birds, such as herons and egrets.

If you are headed to the coast for the Fourth, you can be a holiday hero for sea turtles and waterbirds by following these easy steps:

• Leave fireworks to the professionals. Keep personal fireworks off the beach and at home; attend an official event instead. The loud sounds and bright lights of personal fireworks on Florida’s beaches and waterways can significantly disorient and disrupt nesting sea turtles and shorebirds, as well as their hatchlings and chicks.
• If you are lucky enough to spot a sea turtle nesting, keep at least 50 feet away to avoid causing her to leave the beach before completing the nesting process. Give hatchling sea turtles the same space to avoid disrupting their journey from the sand to the water. If an animal changes its behavior, you’re likely too close. Remember — it is illegal to harm or disturb nesting sea turtles, their nests and eggs, or to pick up hatchlings.
• Do the flock walk and walk around any birds on the beach. Shorebirds and seabirds nest in shallow, hard-to-see scrapes in the sand and their tiny eggs and chicks are well camouflaged and difficult to spot. Give beach-nesting birds at least 300 feet of space to avoid causing them to fly off, which would leave vulnerable eggs and chicks exposed to dangerous elements and predators.
• Stay out of posted areas. Whether on the water or on land, be on the lookout for posted shorebird or sea turtle nesting sites and watch for signs designating Critical Wildlife Areas on the beach or coastal islands. These areas are closed to public access to protect high concentrations of wading birds and shorebirds while they nest and raise their chicks. Beachgoers, boaters and personal watercraft users can help nesting birds by giving them space and keeping noise volumes low near CWAs. If you spot large concentrations of wading birds in trees growing in the water or on islands, it might be an active nesting site even if not posted. Avoid getting too close to prevent disturbance.
• Before heading home each day, properly dispose of or recycle all trash, fill in human-made holes in the sand, and remove all toys and beach furniture from the sand. Obstacles on the beach can entrap sea turtles or prevent them from nesting. Trash and other obstacles can also prevent sea turtle hatchlings from reaching the water when they emerge, as well as entangle adult turtles, birds and other wildlife. Food scraps attract predators, such as raccoons and crows, that can prey on sea turtle hatchlings, as well as shorebird eggs and chicks. Fishing line can be deadly to sea turtles, waterbirds and other wildlife, so be sure to dispose of it properly. To find a monofilament recycling station near you, visit myfwc.com.
• Turn off lights or close curtains after dark to ensure nesting turtles are not disturbed or disoriented as they come ashore and hatchlings do not become disoriented when they emerge from their nests. Any lighting can misdirect and disturb nesting sea turtles and their hatchlings, leading them away from the ocean and toward potential danger. If lighting is still visible, make sure exterior lighting adjacent to nesting beaches is long, low and shielded. Use natural starlight to see on the beach at night and avoid using flashlights, cell phone lights and taking flash photos after dark.
• Pet owners can also help by keeping pets at home or on a short leash and far away from wildlife when taking them to pet-friendly beaches. Even friendly dogs can be seen as predators to shorebirds, which can cause them to flush and leave their eggs and chicks. Leaving pets safely secured inside at home over the Fourth can help protect both your pets and wildlife.

For more information about nesting waterbirds, go to MyFWC.com/Shorebirds and download the “Share the Beach with Beach-Nesting Birds” brochure. Or go to the Florida Shorebird Alliance website at FLShorebirdAlliance.org to learn more about how to participate in shorebird and seabird conservation efforts.

For more information about nesting sea turtles and how you can help, visit MyFWC.com/SeaTurtle or see the FWC’s “Be a Beach Hero” brochure. You can also help sea turtles by reporting anyone disturbing a sea turtle or nest, as well as sea turtles that are sick, injured, entangled or dead to the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).