Siesta Key crowds can further endanger rare beach birds

SIESTA KEY, Fla. - Watching from a distance, Priti Bhandary snapped a photo of nature at its finest. Mixed in with shoreline birds are tiny snow-white birds, appropriately named snowy plovers. 

"I simply love watching them. It’s just so peaceful. It gives me a serene feeling," said Bhandary. 

The plovers are listed as a threatened species and they're facing even more danger on Siesta Key. 

"Almost two-thirds of the enclosures were taken down. The stakes were dragged away from where they were, originally. It appears to be vandalism," said Kylie Wilson, the monitoring and stewardship coordinator with Audubon Florida in Sarasota County.

It's happened twice. 

Wilson believes both incidents were related to spring break. 

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With less than 400 snowy plovers statewide, protecting their nesting habitat and the birds themselves is a top priority for Audubon Florida. 

"There's only about six of these birds on Siesta Key. These birds are so easily disturbed and they are so camouflaged. That is their main defense, is to blend into the snow-white sand," said Wilson. 

They want the birds to nest. It's something that hasn't happened in three years. 

With every predator they face it's another obstacle that puts them in harm’s way. That's why the space is so vital. 

"They are a beach-nesting species," Wilson continued. "They lay their eggs directly on top of the sand and if we don’t provide space for them on these busy public beaches like we have here, they don’t have anywhere else to go."

Harming or disturbing the birds and their eggs could come with a $5,000 fine or up to five years of jail time. 

Wilson hopes people coming out to the beach will take a second, read the signs and understand why the snowy plovers need their space. After all, they were here before us. 

"As soon as people know, I’d like to think that they would care," she added.