A bad turn for Brevard County terns? Conservationist fear so.

A Brevard County colony of least terns, considered "threatened" by wildlife officials because their numbers are dwindling, have taken perhaps a "wrong turn" in their nesting decision, ending up at a construction site in Satellite Beach.

The least tern is protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act and as an endangered species in the Midwest and Great Plains states by the federal Endangered Species Act, and as a state-designated threatened species by Florida’s Endangered and Threatened Species Rule. Harassing the bird can carry penalties of up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

This protected species prefers to lay its eggs on the ground without unleashed dogs, or people, snooping around their nests. But at least 125 pairs of the threated birds have chosen to roost near to where heavy equipment turns dirt for a high-rise hotel and condo development called The Vue at the northwest corner of Shearwater Parkway in Satellite Beach, 30 miles south of where NASA and SpaceX send rockets to space.

Often rocket launches and loud noises can spook the skittish roosting terns into leaving their nests, never returning to their eggs or fledglings. So these particular terns have drawn the attention — and concern — of local birders and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

It's that time again: Turn off your beach lights and watch out for nesting shorebirds

FWC typically warns to keep dogs off the beach or leashed, so they don't chase away shorebirds.

But here, the commotion of construction is what makes the birds roost most precarious. So the FWC is trying to keep the peace (and quiet) between birds and developers.

"The FWC is working with site managers to ensure work can continue in a manner that avoids disturbance to nesting least terns," Lisa Thompson, a spokeswoman for the FWC, told FLORIDA TODAY in an email.

"The FWC and partners can work with property owners in these cases to protect nests, monitor nesting activity, and establish buffers between project activities and breeding birds," Thompson added

The least tern is the smallest tern in North America.

"Least terns face threats to their survival, including habitat loss, disturbance while breeding and raising young, and predation. As a state-designated 'threatened' species, they are protected from harm and harassment," Thompson added.

On April 30, the northern portions of The Vue site was marked off with stakes and rope to protect the well-camouflaged tern nests and eggs, which can be difficult to see and avoid, Thompson said.

In addition to the risk of scaring the least terns away from their nests, studies show noise from construction can keep them from detecting approaching predators and mask the alarm calls they'd otherwise hear from other birds that do sense the approaching danger.

Least tern breeding season in Florida ends Sept. 1, although some individual breeding colonies finish breeding significantly earlier.

The terns eggs and days might be numbered here on this 27-acre site: A Tennessee developer proposes to build The Vue at Satellite Beach, an ambitious complex featuring a four-star hotel, three condo buildings up to 85 feet high, and single-family homes across State Road A1A from Hightower Beach Park.

The park is a mix of state- and city-owned land, funded mostly through state conservation programs, totaling 18 acres bought for more than $8 million in the 1990s. The park was intended as a preserve with some "limited recreation" in order to protect nest shorebirds, sea turtles and other wildlife.

Efforts to reach the developer Monday via phone and email were unsuccessful.

The Vue at Satellite Beach proposed at Hightower Beach Park

Satellite Beach City Manager Courtney Barker said that volunteers on behalf of FWC were documenting shorebird nesting at Hightower Beach and noticed the nesting at The Vue site, notifing the city and FWC. Staff from the state agency visited the site and roped off the nesting area, primarily on the northeast corner of the site.

"The FWC, city staff and representatives of the builder and property owner met at the site this past Friday and resurveyed the nests and provided the builder with the parameters that they can work under (basically staying out of the roped off area) until such time as the eggs hatch and the hatchlings leave the nest," Barker told FLORIDA TODAY in an email.

State law requires the nests be protected while active, she added, "and the developer will not be able to construct anything in the roped off area until the hatchlings leave, which will likely be about 90 days.

"Our biologist and the FWC staff will be monitoring the site frequently to ensure that the nests are not disturbed. The site work is completed and was permitted under the St. Johns River Water Management District and the city. The upcoming work is vertical and is permitted through the city," Barker said.

But some environmental advocates fear the high-rise across from Hightower will disturb — among other things — tern and turtle nesting if the lighting is excessive and/or increased foot traffic from the new development across the road lures too many to the preserve.

Construction activities at the site already are causing the terns there to "flush," or fly away from their nests, said Sandra Sullivan, a South Patrick Shores resident who' running for Brevard County Commission.

"Every time they (construction workers) come down that middle road, it's flushing them. It's a disturbance. The nests are on both sides of the road, and right up to the road," Sullivan said of the terns she saw there Monday morning.

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The property where The Vue will be built is the former Satellite Shores subdivision. The aging neighborhood contained 105 rental homes that were part of then Patrick Air Force (now Space Force) Base's former housing annex.

Crews tore down the dilapidated duplexes in 2018. Since then, the terns flocked there.

It seemed peaceful for perching at first. That all changed when the bulldozers arrived.

The terns, along with black skimmers and other shorebirds often nest atop the nearby Winn-Dixie and the CVS on Fifth Avenue in Indialantic, as well.

FWC estimates more than half of Florida’s least tern population relies upon rooftops for nesting. FWC requires owners of business and other buildings, especially ones with the gravel rooftops terns tend to like to nest on, to maintain those artificial nesting habitats.

When embarking on unexpected building repairs during the nesting season, FWC requires owners to work with the agency's regional shorebird biologists to determine if the project will in any way harm nesting terns and will guide owners on how to apply for an FWC permit if one is needed.

"We have a feeling that these birds have been coming here for a very long time," said Catherine Vecchio, of Satellite Beach volunteer with the Florida Shorebird Alliance, which monitors terns in the area. She hopes Hightower can maintain its conservation role and that some other areas can be preserved for terns to nest in peace.

"We make room for human snowbirds," Vecchio said. "We have birds that migrate here every year for nesting."

Jim Waymer is an environment reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Waymer at 321-261-5903 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com. Or find him on Twitter: @JWayEnviro or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jim.waymer

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Turn of events puts Satellite Beach threatened least terns in trouble