Although Least Terns normally nest on sand or gravel areas on coastal beaches or islands, in some areas of Florida flat building rooftops provide important alternative nesting sites for Least Terns and some other species of birds (note the hatchling in the lower right side of the photo below).

While terns, skimmers, and shorebirds typically nest on beaches or islands along the coasts of Florida, some species that include Least Terns, Roseate Terns, Black Skimmers, and American Oystercatchers are increasingly using flat rooftops to nest and raise young in the sunshine state. In response, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is thanking building owners and managers who have successfully hosted nesting birds on their roofs this season. Most rooftop nesting takes place between April and September, but rooftop nesting can begin as early as February for American Oystercatchers in some areas of Florida.

Building rooftops provide important alternative nesting habitat for the above-listed birds because most species that nest on rooftops are imperiled. For example, approximately 50 percent of Florida’s Least Tern nesting populations utilize flat rooftops for nesting.

Building owners and managers are essential to the success of birds nesting on rooftops, and the FWC suggests that if you own or manage a building where birds are nesting on the roof, you can help with nesting success by not alarming the nesting birds, and coordinating routine maintenance and non-emergency repairs after the nesting season ends in September.

Even if you don’t own or manage a building where birds are nesting, you can help with nesting success this season when you visit a beach, or boat on the water:

• If you are staying at a hotel or visiting a business that has rooftop nesting birds, please thank management and staff for supporting nesting bird conservation.
• Keep at least 300 feet away from nesting birds, walk around flocks of birds rather than flushing them, and don’t enter posted areas. Getting too close to nesting shorebirds, terns, skimmers, and wading birds can cause them to fly away from their nest sites, leaving vulnerable eggs, nestlings, or hatchlings exposed to the elements and predators.
• Please keep pets at home when you go to the beach. Even well-behaved dogs can frighten birds, potentially causing them to abandon their eggs or young. If you bring your dog with you to the shore, go to a beach where dogs are allowed, and adhere to leash laws.
• Of course, properly stash all trash. Litter and food scraps attract predators, such as raccoons, crows, and gulls that prey on bird eggs and nestlings. Discarded fishing line can be deadly to birds and other wildlife too. Help keep beaches and other areas clean.
• Watch for Critical Wildlife Area (CWA) closures, which are indicated by signs posted on the beach or select coastal islands – these areas are closed to public access to protect concentrations of shorebirds and wading birds while they nest and raise young. Boaters and beachgoers can help nesting birds by keeping your distance and turning noise volumes low near CWAs.
• Definitely don’t fly kites near areas where birds can be nesting.
• When birds are fearful or aggravated, you are too close.

For more information, see FWC thanks building owners for hosting rooftop-nesting shorebirds (govdelivery.com)