By Pater Roos
THE SEABIRD SAVIORS Watching seabirds is an endless source of relaxing entertainment, one of the great amenities of the coast. The best place to view many species in one stop is Seaside Seabird Sanctuary, 18328 Gulf Blvd., Indian Shores. They are the go-to folks for injured seabirds. Their ambassadors help capture injured birds and transport them to the sanctuary. Reviews for Seaside Seabird Sanctuary are overwhelmingly positive, praising the organization for their dedicated work in rescuing and rehabilitating injured birds, offering a great opportunity to see native birds up close, and providing a free and educational experience for visitors of all ages, with many highlighting the knowledgeable volunteers and the beautiful beachside location.
The president’s message in the Pelican Post 2025, the Sanctuary’s newsletter, says in part “In 2024, our Sanctuary admitted over 2,000 injured birds to our hospital, ranging from a tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird to not just one but three Masked Boobies far outside of their normal range. Our most common causes of injury were consistent with previous years with fishing line and hooks remaining the number one cause of injury seen in our patients, accounting for over 40% of our caseload. The Brown Pelican is our most common species admitted with 346 pelicans coming through the hospital doors this year. After countless hours spent caring for our patients, we were honored to release more than 800 birds back into the wild in 2024.
“We made great strides in our efforts to make improvements throughout the Sanctuary, and spreading awareness through numerous educational programs and community events. We also began expanding our conservation efforts with the creation of a mangrove propagation project made possible by grant funding through the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. Mangroves provide critical nesting habitat to many of our local bird species, and they are natural barriers that help reduce the impacts of storm surge to our shoreline areas. Our goal is to plant established mangrove plants into depleted areas along the Gandy Bridge and on Little Bird Key.
”In late September, the Sanctuary was shaken to its core by Hurricane Helene. After significant damage from an historic storm surge, they were forced to send most of their birds off-property while they made repairs and temporarily suspended rescue operations. Only a week later in the midst of the aftermath, Hurricane Milton threatened our area, and they had to prepare for the worst. In spite of all of the chaos and devastation, our community rallied around and helped get them back on their feet. After a series of volunteer clean-up days and financial support, they were able to reopen their doors to injured birds and welcome of their resident’s home.
“We still have much to do to in our recovery journey, but we are beyond grateful to be where we are today thanks to our dedicated supporters, volunteers, and staff. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to your return visits. As we continue our important work of rescue, rehabilitation, and release of Florida’s wild birds, our need to improve our current enclosures and facilities remains one of our biggest challenges. With your support, we can accomplish our goal of providing the best quality of care to both our resident birds and our patients!”
Here are their top fundraising priorities for 2025 and ongoing:
Resident Seabird & Shorebird Enclosure Improvements: $35,000
Raptor Rehabilitation Flight Mews Renovation: $15,000
Resident Raptor Aviary Renovation (Phase 1): $60,000
For more information on sponsoring any of these projects, contact Melissa at melissa@seasideseabirdsanctuary.org!
Visit them at www.seasideseabirdsanctuary.org for more info and easy links to ways to help or to donate.