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Golden-winged Warblers forage among the leaves and branch tips of their low, shrubby habitat. Males sing their loud, buzzy song over and over again from the tops of shrubs during early summer.

These warblers breed in tangled, shrubby habitats such as regenerating clearcuts, wet thickets, and tamarack bogs. They often move into nearby woodland when the young have fledged. They spend winters in open woodlands and shade-coffee plantations of Central and South America. (Remember to drink bird-friendly coffee!)

The photo and accompanying information come from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

"Several species of shorebirds and seabirds nest along the beaches of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida. Habitat loss and degradation associated with coastal development has largely restricted many of these species to stretches of beach within parks and preserves. This group of birds is particularly sensitive to human disturbance since environmental conditions on beaches are already harsh and unpredictable. For example, one dog passing near a colony of nesting seabirds can cause all the birds to panic and subsequently leave their nests dangerously exposed to the hot boiling sun."

• Never enter areas posted with shorebird/seabird signs.
• Keep dogs on a leash and away from areas where birds may be nesting.
• Do not fly kites near areas where birds may be nesting.

Please visit the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission website for more information on how you can help and  on their new guidelines, currently being drafted, to help protect threatened, nesting shorebirds like the Black Skimmer, Least Tern, and Snowy Plover.

This short video highlights the threats Sanibel shorebirds face everyday on the beach and showcases simple ways beachgoers can be good neighbors to shorebirds and other coastal wildlife. This video was created by the City of Sanibel in partnership with the Sanibel-Captiva Audubon Society, SCCF, and the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society.

San Cap Audubon is proud to have helped support the Avian Research and Conservation Institute's effort to deploy GPS-equipped cell-phone transmitters on two breeding adult Swallow-tailed Kites on Sanibel. The 2021 Sanibel GPS-tracked Kites are called “Bailey’s Homestead” and “Sanibel Botanical”. 

Read the whole story here.