Summer is here, and there's no better time to help protect our beaches and the shorebirds that visit and depend on them every year. In North Carolina, we are working year-round for the health and safety of our coastal birds. Find out how Audubon North Carolina is working with beach-goers to share our seas and shores with birds along the coast.
Find out which beach birds you may spot this summer and remember there are ways you can help them survive and thrive! Walker Golder and the National Audubon Society have compiled the following guide to sharing the beach with migrating and nesting birds.
North America’s Shorebirds to Spot this Summer
- Every spring, more than 20 million shorebirds migrate through the United States to nest as far as the Arctic each summer, and return back to Central and South America to spend the winter.
- Many species fly more than 15,000 miles in this long-distance intercontinental journey.
- From sightings of tagged individuals, we know that some shorebirds on nonstop flights can cover nearly 2,000 miles in as little as two days.
- The most endangered shorebirds along the Atlantic Coast in the continental U.S. today include the Piping Plover (federally threatened) and Red Knot (proposed for listing as federally threatened).
- Least Terns, Common Terns, Black Skimmers and American Oystercatchers are listed in many Atlantic Coast states as threatened or special concern species.
Chicks on the Beach
Breeding season for most beach-nesting birds is April through the end of August. Here are nesting shorebirds to keep an eye out for on the beach.
Visiting Shorebirds
Migration of shorebirds continues until June, as these marathon migrants make their way to northern breeding areas. Here are the migrating shorebirds to keep an eye out for on the beach:
Simple Ways You Can Help
When people help shorebirds by sharing the beach, they are rewarded with the spectacle of wild birds including the opportunity to observe the excitement that unfolds with every nesting season.
These are some simple steps you can take to help coastal birds:
- Respect protected areas and signs. Birds, eggs, nests and chicks are well-camouflaged and disturbance by people and their pets can cause birds to abandon their eggs and young.
- Avoid disturbing groups of birds that are nesting or feeding. If birds take flight, call loudly or act agitated it means you are too close.
- Always aim to keep your dog on a leash and away from the birds. Shorebirds perceive people and pets as predators.
- Please don’t leave trash or fishing line on the beach. Take your trash with you and place in an appropriate trash container. Trash attracts real predators such as gulls, crows, raccoons and foxes. Fishing line entangles and kills birds.
Want to become a citizen scientists and report the shorebirds you see this summer? Click here to get started!
