Part of the Florida beach experience is enjoying our beautiful seabirds and shorebirds. From elegant white egrets to raucous gulls and graceful terns, Florida beaches are blessed with a tremendous variety of birds.

We'd like to keep our birds happy and healthy. So when breeding season rolls around each year (March through August) hundreds of volunteers all over Florida help to monitor and count nesting birds and educate the public.

Quite a few of our shorebirds don't really build a nest. They just plop their eggs down in the sand, right on the beach. Needless to say, with all the human foot traffic on the beach, this can interfere with nesting. Fewer nests means fewer birds. So we have to learn to share the beach with our beloved birds.

Some birds, like gulls, terns and black skimmers nest in colonies, which are easy to spot although it can be hard to see the eggs.

Other birds, like willets, plovers and oystercatchers are solitary nesters. They are nearly impossible to see because they blend in so well with the sand.

It is important not to disturb nesting birds. That means:

• Don't let children chase birds on the beach
• Pay attention to beach signs that indicate the presence of nesting birds -- even if you can't actually see any birds
• Don't approach nesting birds too closely -- if they start to stand up, fly, make noise or shift around a lot, you are too close
  
• Do not bring dogs onto the beach during nesting season -- even on a leash because birds are easily spooked by the sight of a dog, even at a distance

If you want to get involved as a volunteer to help monitor and protect nesting shorebirds, contact your local chapter of the Florida Audubon Society. They'll help put you in touch with a program in your area.