Sharing the beach with an endangered shorebird

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]Good evening. I'm Briana Ardondo. Thanks for being here with us. First at 10, you can easily spot them with their orange and black beaks. On Leo Beach in Sarasota, there's about 1,200 black skimmers that have set up their colony.

[00:00:12]Now, as Memorial Day weekend approaches, Ottabon Florida wants to make sure these protected birds are kept safe. Fox 13's Kimberly Quezon shows us why they're asking visitors to give these birds their space.

[00:00:25]>> You can hear them before you see them.

[00:00:28][laughter] Just awesome birds and a and a great spectacle and just another reason why Florida beaches are fantastic.

[00:00:34]>> On North Leo Beach, a colony of black skimmers are nesting.

[00:00:38]>> We were just thinking that they were amazing creatures of flight that we wanted to not disturb.

[00:00:44]>> Abby O'Donnell with Ottabon Florida works to make sure the birds have their own space as she and volunteers make sure they're not disturbed.

[00:00:52]>> We do have this entire area posted off that people cannot enter into. Um, but the birds love to hang out by the water as well, especially during the hot times of the day. They'll go down and take baths, cool off, drink some water. Um, so really just giving them space.

[00:01:06]>> There's about 400 black skimmer nests, and their eggs are due to hatch any day now, making it even more important for visitors to know to not only leave the chicks, but their parents alone.

[00:01:17]>> They really keep a balanced ecosystem.

[00:01:20]Having having biodiversity is definitely important out on the beaches and when you have a a threatened species that's losing their home due to habitat loss, human disturbances, um giving them those protections is is definitely really important.

[00:01:32]>> Black skimmers are a state threatened species. The colony here on Leo is one of the largest in the state. As summer ramps up, O'Donnell asked visitors to help protect them by cleaning up trash and not running them off. If we can protect them, if we can give them a a safe area to to nest, they're going to keep coming back here and keep raising their young year after year.

[00:01:54]>> From Sarasota, Kimberly Quezon, Fox 13 News. Thank you, Kimberly. Now, the black skimmers will remain on Leo until around August when their chicks can take flight. Ottabon Florida does ask that you pick up all of your trash, including food, which could attract predators.

[00:02:10]Dogs are also not allowed on Leo Beach, but they have been seen there and can disrupt the black skimmers and cause them to abandon their nests.