A Year of Surprises and Firsts for Beach-Nesting Bird Species

Beach-nesting birds benefited from a combination of storm effects and had a banner nesting year in 2025. Multiple hurricanes and large storms in 2024 rearranged habitat across the Gulf Coast. The storm surge and winds tore out vegetation, leaving large expanses of bare sand, perfect for nesting. While some communities are still rebuilding, both birds and people were spared major impacts in the 2025 season. A lack of hurricanes this year meant birds nesting in the newly exposed areas could successfully fledge without contending with excessive waves, wind, or water, showcasing how resilient they can be without human disturbance and development.

NORTHEAST FLORIDA

This year, our team saw encouraging results for many coastal bird species, thanks in large part to the dedication of our incredible shorebird steward staff and volunteers. Their tireless work to protect nesting areas and educate beachgoers resulted in strong nesting activity and impressive chick numbers at many sites. While predation incidents continued at above normal levels, overall productivity improved, and with continued management, we expect even greater success in the years ahead.

Amelia Island State Park supported more than 150 Least Tern nests with solid fledging success. Huguenot Memorial Park again hosted thriving colonies of Brown Pelicans, Laughing Gulls, and Royal Terns, with almost 2,000 Royal Tern chicks flooding the beach at one point.

Anastasia State Park supported exceptionally high nesting numbers and strong results, including the best Black Skimmer season in decades with more than 30 fledged young, as well as outstanding Wilson’s Plover productivity. Fort Matanzas saw Least Terns return in good numbers after several years of low activity, with promising success despite some losses to predation. At Summer Haven, new sand deposits created ideal nesting conditions and supported large Least Tern colonies with moderate success. Along the Tolomato River, American Oystercatchers and Wilson’s Plovers again nested in healthy numbers, though several sites were affected by rising sea levels and associated tidal overwash.

PANHANDLE

Tyndall Air Force Base had an incredible year with 39 Wilson’s Plovers fledging (a record) as well as 16 Snowy Plovers. The Eastern Panhandle also represented a high point for American Oystercatchers; Audubon staff were delighted to see seven chicks at the St. George Island Causeway and the first oystercatcher chick at Lanark Reef since 2021. Cape San Blas also fledged a Snowy Plover chick for the first time since 2017.

In the Western Panhandle, Audubon applauds the community members who spotted nesting colonies at construction sites. One construction site in Navarre Beach had an incredible year and produced more than 500 Least Tern fledglings and 45 Black Skimmer chicks. For the first time in several years, Destin supported a large colony on Norriego Point, fledging more than 100 Least Terns. Overall, the Western Panhandle fledged more than 630 Least Terns, 45 Black Skimmers, and two Wilson’s Plovers, with an additional 17 Least Tern fledges from monitored rooftops.

FLORIDA COASTAL ISLANDS SANCTUARIES

After a difficult year in 2024, the nesting sites within the Tampa region’s Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries bounced back in 2025. Overall, the Audubon team recorded 7,000 pairs of nesting seabirds, with record numbers of Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns, and Caspian Terns at 3D Island. American Oystercatchers took advantage of new nesting habitat created by the 2024 hurricanes at 3D Island, and 11 chicks fledged across all sites. We also celebrated the return of 96 nesting Wood Stork pairs to Dot Dash Dit Critical Wildlife Area, with a total of more than 925 Wood Stork pairs across all sites in the region.

TAMPA REGION

Reduced vegetation and open sandy beach conditions resulting from the 2024 storms encouraged Least Terns to explore new areas of beach as well as successful nesting by many Wilson’s Plover pairs. We also recorded Black Skimmers laying eggs on St. Pete Beach on April 26—the earliest ever for skimmers in Pinellas County! Across Pinellas and Sarasota counties, Black Skimmers fledged more than 670 chicks.

Thanks to predation management and partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Fort De Soto Park had a record year for Wilson's Plovers, producing 14 fledges. Three Rooker Island continued to be a critical nesting site for American Oystercatchers, Black Skimmers, and Laughing Gulls, as well as Royal, Caspian, and Sandwich Terns: several thousand birds fledged from this single island.

ROOFTOPS

Audubon also monitored 56 rooftops, 17 of which were active this year across Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Sarasota counties. We recorded 11 American Oystercatcher pairs with at least six fledged chicks, two Black Skimmer colonies, six Least Tern colonies, and three Killdeer pairs. One of our Least Tern rooftops was active for the first time since 2019 on a historic USPS building. We coordinated with the post office to conduct regular chick-checks (USPS staff even helped out), and we returned four chicks to the roof after falls—thank you, USPS!

A huge thank you to our 43 rooftop program volunteers who dedicated 172 hours to monitor sites, check on chicks, and enter important nesting data.

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

More than 400 Black Skimmers and at least 480 Least Terns fledged from sites up and down the coast. It was a great year for Wilson’s Plovers, with fledges from Second Chance Critical Wildlife Area, Keewaydin Island, Morgan Island, Dickman’s Shoals, Bonita Beach, Fort Myers Beach, and Cayo Costa. It also proved to be a year of firsts for this area: the first-ever recorded instances of Royal Tern and American Oystercatcher nesting in Collier County, the first successful Least Tern colony on Sanibel Causeway since the 1990s, and the first Least Tern colony at Bonita Beach in ten years. We look forward to seeing these birds returning next nesting season.

This article was published in the Audubon Florida Naturalist Winter 2025 issue.