Reporter: Bridget Bruchalski
•7/2/2026
NAPLES, Fla. (WINK)—Independence Day falls right in the middle of shorebird nesting season in Southwest Florida.
The nesting season runs from about February to September. Experts say just one night of fireworks could be enough to stress these birds out and cause them to abandon their nest completely.
"The loud noise, the bright light, it can cause a lot of chaos to them," Lauren Barkley of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida said.
Barkley said those big, beautiful sky displays come with a very different impact on the ground.
"It's very disruptive, and it's scary to them," Barkley said.
To people, it's a show. To shorebirds along the waterline, it's more like chaos cutting through their night.
"It is not very great for wildlife," Barkley said. "A firework goes off, it scares them, they fly the other way."
In some cases, that panic has a cost.
"They think their nest is under attack, and so they're going to abandon it," Barkley said.
Parents leave, and their young are left behind.
"They might not come back if it continues through the day, so you have to think about it, especially on the weekends," Barkley said. "People like to do it for multiple days, and that's going to cause the parents to become even more wary of the nest."
If you're headed to the beach this holiday, maybe step back from the shoreline for the show.
Experts say the impact of a fireworks display doesn't just end at the finale.
It continues along the shoreline, so if you happen to be at the beach the next few days after Independence Day and you see any debris wash up, be sure to pick it up and throw it out.
