SAND ISLAND, ALABAMA — Beachgoers on a small Alabama island may have unknowingly killed scores of baby birds.<br /><br />The group inadvertently disturbed the nesting grounds of a rare, protected bird.<br /><br />AL.com reports that least terns are small coastal birds that lay their eggs on depressions in the sand — something that leaves them vulnerable to a whole host of threats.<br /><br />One such threat came bouncing up this summer, collecting the grape-sized eggs and stacking them around a dome of sand to make way for a volleyball space.<br /><br />Thing is, least tern eggs need to be kept cool, not warm. So leaving them unprotected under the sun pretty much baked those chicks to death.<br /><br />The disturbing site was discovered over the Fourth of July Weekend by wildlife researcher Andrew Haffenden, who was conducting a bird survey for nonprofit Birmingham Audubon and had earlier spotted several tents and a net on the island.<br /><br />Haffenden and his group later put up ropes and signs around the nesting area, and alerted U.S. Fish and Wildlife.<br /><br />Despite the mass carnage and the storms that hit in late July, Haffenden says the current number of active nests indicate that it just might shape up to be a good year for the birds.
