Coastal Stewardship

You can help make beaches safer for birds.

Iconic coastal birds like terns, plovers, and pelicans rely on our beaches and barrier islands around the country to rest and nest, but they're vulnerable to disturbances like human development and sea-level rise. 

Boaters and beachgoers, unaware that birds are nesting at these sites, may get too close, flushing parents from their eggs and chicks. Without the protection of their parents, well-camouflaged chicks and eggs can be crushed underfoot, overheat in the sun without shade from their parents, or succumb to opportunistic predators like crows and gulls.

Audubon's Coastal Bird Stewardship Program trains volunteers to protect our coastal nesting birds through long-term monitoring, signage and fencing, beachgoer education, and working with coastal communities.

Do you love spending time on the beach or the water? Share the love with our coastal birds by giving them the space they need to nest, rest, and feed.

Help us #ShareTheShore with coastal birds - use our social media toolkit to spread the word!

 

Stewardship Across the Flyways

Seas & Shores

Hit the Beach With A Shorebird Biologist

Shelby Casas braves sun, bugs, and storms to protect endangered birds.
Coasts

Black Skimmers Successfully Nest on Louisiana Mainland for First Time in a Decade

These seabirds capitalized on a restored beach in southwest Louisiana this year after several hurricanes.
Coasts

New Funding to Help Gulf Coast Beachgoers Share the Shore with Birds

Audubon leads a new collaborative effort to design more effective coastal stewardship and management plans for the Gulf of Mexico.
Coasts

New Science Reveals the Big Impact Stewardship Has on Coastal Birds

Birds like terns and plovers that are vulnerable to human disturbance need active stewardship to thrive.
Coasts

Black Skimmers Show That Protecting One Beach Is Not Enough

In its first five years, Audubon’s coastal banding programs reveal the importance of conservation across the bird’s range.
Coasts

How to Become a Bird-friendly Beachgoer

Going to the beach is great, but people aren’t the only ones who enjoy it. Here’s how you can protect shorebirds while soaking up the sun.

Together, we can share the shore.

Birds We Steward