Publix: Where Nesting is a Pleasure

By Victoria Parsons

Photos: Dave Kandz An adult tern flies dozens of sorties a day to feed its chicks.

As humans push beach-nesting birds away from their traditional waterfront habitat, flat white roofs across Pinellas County have become critical to the survival of threatened species like the least tern.

Last year, about a hundred pairs of least terns built nests on the roof of the Albertson’s at the corner of West Bay Drive and Indian Rocks Road, making it one of the county’s most important nesting sites, said Dave Kandz, conservation chairman for St. Petersburg Audubon Society (SPAS). But while the birds are safer on roofs than beaches, chicks that venture too near the edge are likely to fall off, or they can be washed off the roof in a heavy rain.

Albertson’s employees returned dozens of chicks to their roof-top homes last year in a “chick-a-boom” designed by SPAS volunteers, and management promised to make some changes to prevent them from falling. When Publix purchased the store in June, SPAS contacted the new owners and asked for help.

Volunteers use a “chick-a-boom” to return tern chicks to their roof-top nesting sites.

“They said it was absolutely something they wanted to do,” Kandz said. When the terns return this Spring, they’ll discover a roof-top nesting site designed to be as safe as possible, with fencing around the edge of the roof, coverings over downspouts and even pallets to provide shade and protection from predators.

SPAS began working with businesses that own buildings with flat white roofs in 2001 and it appears that more and more birds are seeking sanctuary away from crowded beaches. Large colonies are successfully nesting at
Matter Brothers furniture warehouse and Victor Distributing as well as other buildings in the Joe Creek Industrial Park.

“It used to be that we had a lot of smaller groups, now it seems as though they are coalescing into larger colonies,” Kandz said. “There’s safety in numbers – a large group of parents can ‘mob’ a hawk and chase it off and that might not happen with a smaller group.”