Andrew West | Fort Myers News-Press
The south end of Fort Myers Beach is a nesting site for many of Southwest Florida’s protected shorebirds. Those include black skimmers, least terns, snowy plovers, Wilson’s plovers and more.
News-Press photographer Andrew West spent a recent evening there documenting some of the sights.
Some skimmers were seen loafing on the sands while others hunted the shallow waters in search of a meal. Least terns bathed and a lone reddish egret danced, pranced and ran in a zig zagging pattern drumming up a meal. In Big Carlos pass, several dolphins broke the surface of the calm waters, working in pairs in search of fish.
A staked off area alerts visitors to be aware of the nesting birds. The terns will make a racket and dive bomb any potential threat, which includes people. When hatched, snowy plovers and least terns are small cotton balls with feet. The camouflaged puff balls scatter along the landscape. The snowy plover chicks feed almost immediately after hatching, while parents bring in small bait fish for the least terns and black skimmers.
Beach nesting season is April 1 to Aug. 31.
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