Florida Helicopter Pilot Lands on Protected Shorebird Nesting Site, Faces Charges

A Flori­da heli­copter pilot, Ernesto Cordero, has been charged with harass­ing pro­tect­ed birds after land­ing on a closed shore­bird nest­ing site at Egmont Key State Park. The Flori­da Fish and Wildlife Con­ser­va­tion Com­mis­sion (FWC) cit­ed Cordero for the incident.

Egmont Key is a crit­i­cal wildlife refuge for var­i­ous shore­bird species like black skim­mers and sand­wich terns. Wit­ness­es report­ed a woman exit­ing the heli­copter and tak­ing pho­tos at the nest­ing site, fur­ther dis­turb­ing the birds.

Cordero claimed a fuel leak neces­si­tat­ed the land­ing but did­n’t report an emer­gency. The FWC believes the heli­copter’s blades might have dam­aged bird eggs.

“These nest­ing areas are vital for shore­birds,” said Hub­bard’s Mari­na Capt. Robyn Lela, stress­ing the impor­tance of respect­ing wildlife habitats.

Cordero faces a mis­de­meanor charge for harass­ing nest­ing birds, land­ing in a state park, and enter­ing a closed area. His court date is set for July 1st.

Audubon Flori­da empha­sized the eco­log­i­cal val­ue of these birds and the need to pro­tect their habi­tats. This inci­dent under­scores the need to bal­ance human activ­i­ty with wildlife preservation.