Life Returns to Navarre Beach

After a hurricane tore through Navarre Beach, I was there, monitoring the park’s restoration. The landscape had been reshaped by wind and water, but nature wasted no time reclaiming what was hers. The birds came back—Least Terns, Black Skimmers, Snowy Plovers, and Great Blue Herons—each playing their part in the cycle of life on the recovering shore.

The Least Terns were in full courtship mode, the males dramatically swinging tiny silver baitfish in front of the females they hoped to impress. If the female wasn’t interested, she simply turned her head, and the rejected fish was left on the sand. Soon, the beach was littered with shimmering, discarded fish as males hurried off to find a more suitable offering.

The Snowy Plovers, delicate and quick-footed, nested in the sand. In a twist of roles, the females laid the eggs but left the males to tend the nests while they searched for new mates. Their tiny, well-camouflaged eggs blended seamlessly with the sand, hidden in plain sight.

Then there were the Black Skimmers, moving like ballet dancers across the water. With their lower mandibles slicing through the surface, they skimmed for fish in graceful, fluid motions, their black and white wings reflecting in the shallows as they worked.

Not all was peaceful, though. Great Blue Herons, tall and stealthy, lurked near the nesting sites, occasionally raiding the nests for an easy meal. Despite the predation, the colonies thrived, resilient as ever.

Watching these birds reclaim the storm-swept beach, I was reminded that nature, no matter the setback, always finds a way forward. And so did Navarre Beach.