"Nesting

birds are faced with the added stress and challenge of rearing their young

when a beach becomes popular with people for recreational use," said

Brad Winn, a biologist with WRD Nongame Endangered Wildlife Program. "In

addition to the potential threat of nests and young being trampled, human

presence alone can scare the birds off their nests, exposing them to the

heat of the sun and predation from other animals. When dogs are included,

it increases the risk. Dogs are able to find nests and track down young

birds hiding in the grass."

Georgia's beach-nesting

birds prefer to nest above the high-tide level on wide expanses of flat

beach or in the dunes. They lay eggs directly on the beach in shallow

scrapes in the sand. After hatching, the chicks hide on the beach or in

the grass. The nests and hiding chicks are very hard to see. Disturbance

exposing them to predatory animals and excessive heat from the sun, both

often resulting in their death within a matter of minutes.

Not only are

Georgia's beaches important for nesting, they also serve as key wintering

and stopover points for several seabird and shorebird species. Among these

are several protected species such as the red knot, piping plover, black

skimmer, American oystercatcher, brown pelican and royal tern. Birds from

as far away as the Arctic region come through Georgia as they follow migration

routes to South America.

"Georgia

Board Rule 391-4-7 actually prohibits dogs on several protected barrier

islands because they can destroy nests and kill the young chicks,"

said WRD Law Enforcement Captain Homer Bryson. "Due to dog-related

incidents in the past, we will be making a concerted effort to increase

the enforcement of this law. It's important to understand that this is

necessary to ensure the protection of these rare birds, especially during

their nesting season."

According to

WRD, those islands protected by Georgia Board Rule 391-4-7 are Williamson

Island, St. Catherines Island Bar, Little Egg Island Bar, Pelican Spit

and Satilla River Marsh Island.

The rules protecting

Georgia's "Bird Islands" were based on recommendations made

to the Department of Natural Resources by the Bird Island Advisory Committee,

an 8-member panel of coastal resident appointed by DNR Commissioner Lonice

Barrett. This committee was developed to study the options for protection

of rare shorebird habitat on the barrier islands. Formal recommendations

were made to GDNR and the rules were adopted in April 1998.

In order to

share the beaches with the native birds that nest on them so that future

generations of Georgian's can enjoy seeing these beautiful creatures,

there are steps you can take. Nests and chicks are very sensitive to human

presence. So please:

1. Leave your

dog at home. They destroy nests and chase young birds.

1. Hang out

with the crowd, and avoid remote stretches of beach where birds may be

nesting.

2. Walk or

drive below the last high tide line to avoid injuring chicks or eggs.

3. Learn to

recognize Georgia's coastal birds, be aware of their nesting areas from

March through August, and teach others to appreciate Georgia's native

beach-nesting birds.

Georgians can

support the conservation and protection of Georgia's nesting and migratory

birds and their habitat by purchasing a wildlife license plate for their

vehicles, or by donating to the "Give Wildlife a Chance" State

Income Tax Checkoff. Since 1997, more than 900,000 wildlife license plates

have been sold in Georgia, raising over $12 million for wildlife conservation,

recreation and education projects. The primary source of funding for the

Nongame Wildlife and Natural Heritage Section, the 1997 plate depicts

a Northern bobwhite (quail) in flight through longleaf pine habitat ­

one of Georgia's most at-risk ecosystems.

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