Loss of Nesting Shorebirds on Sand Dollar Island a Concern

This year, 2026, is another huge loss of a nesting shorebird species, Wilson’s Plover, on Sand Dollar Island/Big Marco Pass Critical Wildlife Area (CWA). According to Audubon of the Western Everglades (AWE), “after monitoring all species on this beach for eight years amongst natural predators (coyotes, bobcats, crows, rats) that were always present, human disturbance, and water quality issues. It is apparent that birds are deeply impacted by habitat changes from the dredge project. Removing acres of the isolated north tip habitat, creating a constant land bridge not allowing for breaches, and impacting the density of vegetation in certain areas has now led to zero shorebird species nesting on this CWA, as well as a massive decline in wading birds due to constant deepening of the lagoon.  We have had shorebirds return and nest successfully after hurricanes and after predation.”

Referring to Turrell Hall’s Tigertail Sand Dollar Biological Monitoring Report for 2025, compiled for the Hideaway Beach Taxing District, they described “suitable nesting habitat as open and sandy with vegetative cover less than 10%.” Research on the FWC website could not find any reference to the definition of “suitable nesting habitat.” The absence of any nesting birds for the fourth year in a row indicates that the bird nesting habitat created by the berm project is not suitable.   

Black skimmers have specific needs and the Sand Dollar nesting habitat met those nesting needs prior to the start of the Ecosystem Restoration project in November 2022. The area needs to be sandy and largely free of vegetation; birds need to be able to see approaching predators either from land or from above, and the non-vegetated areas need to be undisturbed. They create shallow scrapes in the sand, laying their eggs directly in these depressions to ensure camouflage and protection from predators.

The following is a chronological record of black skimmers’ nesting on Sand Dollar Island:

In 2024, 2025, and 2026 – no black skimmers nested on Sand Dollar Island.

In 2023, no black skimmer nests hatched.

November 2022 – Tigertail Lagoon/Sand Dollar Island Ecosystem Restoration project started.

September 28, 2022 – Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida.

Summer 2022 black skimmers nested on Dollar Island, though chicks were observed with swollen joints. 

2021 - According to the Florida Shorebird Alliance (FSA), the largest breeding colony of black skimmers on the Gulf Coast was in the Big Marco Pass CWA.

2020 - The black skimmer nesting season was cut short due to a deadly illness in which two-thirds of the chicks that hatched that year died.

2019 - Saw a very successful black skimmer nesting season at Big Marco Pass.

2018 - The summer colony looked like they were having a good year, with a rate of two chicks per pair of adults. In early September, the birds (not just black skimmers) began to get sick, showing toxic levels from red tide. In 2018 – Coastal cities all over Florida posted “Red Tide Warnings.”

2017 - The black skimmers returned to Big Marco Pass and had a very productive breeding season.

2016 - Black skimmers overcame the challenges of Hideaway’s dredging project and the effects of Tropical Storm Colin and the colony fledged more than 300 chicks.

2015 – According to FWC, the north end of Marco’s Beach had the largest nesting colony of black skimmers in the state. It recorded about 600 pairs of adult black skimmers. 

Note: A berm repair is scheduled for early November for damage done by Hurricane Isaias as it made landfall near Destin, Florida, on October 9, 2026, as a Category 2 hurricane. According to Mohamed Dabees, Senior Engineer for Humiston and Moore, “roughly a 300-foot section of the berm got pancaked by the force of the water where sand got pushed into the lagoon.”