This document summarizes a coastal bird stewardship program in Alabama that monitored and protected beach-nesting birds like least terns and snowy plovers. Volunteers surveyed four sites and installed protective fencing around key nesting areas. They observed 110 least tern pairs but high coyote predation led to a 61% nest failure rate. Snowy plover monitoring saw 3 pairs fledge 1 chick each. Abundance surveys found 42 bird species and human disturbance was the primary threat. Outreach engaged over 500 people to increase awareness of conservation efforts for these declining coastal species. Multi-agency collaboration was effective but program expansion is still needed.

1. Alabama Coastal Bird Stewardship Program
Protection, Monitoring, & Outreach for Alabama’s Beach-nesting Birds
Katheryn A. Harris (Master’s Candidate of Environmental Sciences, University of Tennessee - Chattanooga), Kacy L. Ray (American Bird
Conservancy), Dianne K. Ingram (Alabama Ecological Services Field Office, USFWS), and Kelly K. Reetz (Gulf State Park, AL)
Introduction
• Beach-nesting birds (BNBs) are among the fastest declining group of birds in North
America¹.
• Increased coastal development and recreational activities have caused major loss of
important breeding and nesting habitat for BNBs in many areas, including the Gulf
Coast.
• Gulf State Park (GSP) in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama contains some of
the last remaining undeveloped nesting habitat for least terns, black skimmers, and
snowy plovers in the state.
• Little site specific breeding data or nest fate analyses are available in AL.
• The American Bird Conservancy (ABC), in collaboration with GSP and the US Fish &
Wildlife Service (USFWS) are working to provide protection, monitoring, and public
outreach for solitary and colonial BNBs along GSP’s beaches, with the long-term
conservation outcome of increasing their nesting and fledging success.
Methods2
• We surveyed and monitored four sites managed by GSP: Alabama Point (AP), Cotton
Bayou (CB), Pier to Pavilion (PP), and West Pier (WP) (Fig. 1).
• Two sites (AP and PP) were posted with protective signs and symbolic fencing to
decrease disturbance to nesting birds, protecting ~23 acres (Figs. 2 and 3).
• Breeding bird surveys were conducted weekly by foot throughout each study site to
document number of breeding pairs and locate nest sites.
• Nest monitoring was conducted twice a week to collect reproductive data to
determine nest fates and fledging success.
• Abundance and disturbance surveys were conducted weekly by foot throughout
each site along transect routes (i.e. wrack line).
• All bird species seen and heard were documented along with potential
sources of disturbance (predators, humans, vehicles, etc...) to create a threat index.
• A network of volunteer stewards was established to provide outreach to the public
during holidays and busy weekends.
Reproductive Monitoring
Least Tern (Sternula antillarum)
• We observed 110 breeding pairs of least terns at 3 of the 4 study sites: AP, CB, and PP.
• A subset of 80 nests were monitored at the AP study site (Fig. 4)
• We observed a high occurrence of depredation at the AP site (coyote and ghost crab, Figs. 5 and 6).
• We documented 49 depredated nests: 61% failure rate (Fig. 7).
• From 96 breeding pairs monitored at the AP study site, 6 chicks (Fig. 8) successfully fledged:
0.06 fledges/breeding pair.
Cause of Depredation
Coyote 37
Ghost Crab 12
Total 49
Abundance Surveys
• We observed 42 species of birds across all four study sites.
• Many of the same species were observed (Fig. 10), with a few rare sightings observed: Red
Knot, Western Sandpiper, Piping Plover, and Black-necked Stilt.
Disturbance Index (Threats)
• Recreationists were our leading disturbance across all four study sites (Fig. 9) followed by
laughing gulls; coyotes had a more direct impact on nesting birds (Fig. 4).
• Other types of disturbances observed include beach-raking, ATVs/UTVs, State Park trucks,
planes/helicopters, dogs, predator bird species (herons and crows), and raccoons.
Disturbance
Type
Alabama
Point
Cotton
Bayou
Pier to
Pavilion
West
Pier
Total
Human / Beach-
goers
2058 952 2523 300 5833
Laughing Gull 783 340 1768 723 3614
Human – Anglers 169 --- 71 --- 240
Ghost Crab
99 6 61 16 182
Coyote
21 --- 25 5 51
Fig. 9. Top 5 disturbances observed at study sites at Gulf State Park, AL (2014).
Species Alabama Point Cotton Bayou Pier to Pavilion West Pier Total # of Obs
Laughing Gull 594 380 1526 774 3274
Least Tern 773 21 794
Sanderling 131 231 32 394
Sandwich Tern 98 131 115 44 388
Brown Pelican 151 22 128 63 364
Fig. 10. Top 5 species of birds observed during abundance surveys at the four study sites in Gulf State Park, May – August 2014.
Discussion and Implications
• Close monitoring of snowy plovers resulted in successful nest hatching and
subsequent productivity at GSP.
• Delayed nesting activity from record breaking rainfall and high nest failure
resulted in low least tern productivity.
• Coyote removal will likely increase reproductive output for least terns in the future
and may be explored through consultation with USFWS.
• The program was successful in increasing awareness and educating the public
about BNBs while reducing disturbances to nesting birds.
• Multiagency collaboration has proven highly effective in the conservation of BNBs
and their habitat in Gulf Shores, AL.
• Following strategies outlined in USFWS's Vision for a Healthy Gulf of Mexico
Watershed, this project serves as an on-the-ground example of conservation and
restoration goals in the Alabama and Florida Beaches focal area.
• Program expansion to Dauphin Island, AL will occur next year in collaboration with
stakeholders and partner agencies (i.e. USFWS Division of Migratory Bird Management, Gulf Restoration
Program, GCPO LCC Integrated Science Agenda, local governments, ADCNR, and future Gulf of Mexico Avian Monitoring
Network).
Stewardship and Public Outreach
• Volunteers logged 73.5 hours performing stewardship and public outreach during
busy weekends and holidays (Fig. 11).
• We conducted other educational outreach events throughout the Gulf Shores
community (Fig. 12).
• We directly reached 526 people through these efforts (Fig. 13).
• We employed social media to reach people beyond the beach.
Fig. 11. Family observing
nesting Least Terns during a
stewardship event at AP.
Fig. 12 Children make their
own snowy plover chicks at
the Gulf Shores Public
Library’s summer reading
program.
Fig. 8. One day old least tern
chicks at AP.
Figure 5. Coyote tracks
observed going through the
least tern protected nesting
area at AP.
Fig. 6. Remnants of a
depredated least tern egg near
a ghost crab burrow at AP.
Acknowledgements
Funding for this project was provided by the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation through the Shell Marine Habitat Program. We
would like to thank GSP staff, USFWS Alabama Ecological Services
staff, City of Orange Beach staff, and Coastal Bird Conservation for
their collaboration on this project. A big thank you to all the
volunteer stewards for spending their time and energy protecting
the birds and educating people on the beach! Special thanks to
Ike’s Beach Rentals for providing chairs and umbrellas for the
volunteer stewards. All photos by Katheryn Harris unless otherwise
noted.
Reproductive Monitoring
Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus)
• At the PP site, we monitored 3 snowy plover pairs (total clutch count = 9)
• One chick was lost shortly after hatching attributed to an unknown reason.
• Of the 8 chicks that survived past hatching, 3 successfully fledged:
1.0 fledge/breeding pair.
Photo 1. First hatched chick from first
snowy plover nest at the PP site.
Photo 2. Snowy plover brood at the PP
site. Photo credit: Cliff Collings
# People Reached
Stewardship 338
Community Outreach 188
Social Media (Facebook) 47,936
Total 48,462
Figure 13. Number of hours and people reached
promoting the Alabama Coastal Bird Stewardship
Program through various outlets (2014).
Literature Cited
¹Niven, D. K. and G. S. Butcher. 2011. Status and trends of wintering coastal species along the northern Gulf of Mexico, 1965-2011. American
Birds 65: 12-19.
2Burger, J., Parsons, K., Wartenberg, D., Safina, C., O’Connor, J., and Gochfeld, M. 1994. Biomonitoring Using Least Terns and Black Skimmers
in the Northeastern United States. Journal of Coastal Research 10(1): 39 – 47.
2Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 2014 rev. Breeding bird protocol for Florida’s seabirds and shorebirds. Tallahassee, FL.
26 pp.
2Kirsch, E.M. 1996. Habitat and Productivity of Least Terns on the Lower Platte River, Nebraska. Wildlife Monographs 132: 1-48.
Photo 3. Bill Lynn (USFWS), Kat Harris (ABC),
and Kelly Reetz (GSP) add signs and symbolic
fencing at a protected nesting area for snowy
plovers and least terns at the PP site.
Fig. 4. Final nest fates for least terns monitored at the AP study site (2014).
Fig 1. The project’s four study sites (2014). Fig. 2 Protected least tern nesting habitat at the AP (2014). Fig. 3
Protected nesting habitat for least terns and snowy plovers at the PP site (2014).
Fig. 7. Identified predators of
least tern nests at AP (2014).