A half dozen legally protected shorebird chicks were killed over the Fourth of July weekend at a Marco Island beach.
A sea turtle monitor found the black skimmers, a species of special concern, on the morning of July 5 in the Critical Wildlife Area at Sand Dollar Beach, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported today.
Tracks in the sand indicate an unleashed dog likely killed the chicks, the Conservation Commission said.
Dogs are prohibited at the beach, which is posted with signs and twine to keep people from trampling the well-camouflaged eggs. Nesting season usually lasts through August.
The CWA at Sand Dollar is among the most important shorebird nesting sites in Florida.
A bird census last week found some 600 black skimmer adults at Sand Dollar and some 90 skimmer chicks, the city of Marco Island's environmental specialist Nancy Richie said.
Least terns and Wilson's plovers also are nesting at Sand Dollar this summer, Richie said.
