An article appearing in the St. Pete Times and the TBT alleges that a film crew working for the Canadian company, Bombardier, which produces the Sea-Doo sport-boats brand, destroyed the nesting grounds of the Black Skimmer, a bird that is on the endangered list, while filming a commercial for its product in Shell Key — a publicly protected nature preserve, near the bird sanctuary.
The eggs of the Black Skimmer are protected by several state laws because the species (who only nest on coastal shorelines) is in peril of extinction. Tim Mckercher, a Melbourne media consultant and spokesperson, is reported to have said that he had no knowledge of anyone being on the ground in Shell Key.
Witnesses say that the chopper, which had been filming the commercial, lowered the craft so that they could pass off a videotape to other crew members in a boat near the shore of the reserve. The witnesses continue that when the helicopter sunk down to make the hand-off, it stirred up dirt like a dust storm and the Black Skimmers immediately took flight to get away.
They say that the wind gusts from the helicopter not only blew the dirt around, but it also blew the endangered eggs, breaking and displacing them. Wildlife officials agree that Shell Key is the only place left in Florida where the Black Skimmers can safely mate. They fear that this incident will scare the birds away from the sanctuary as well.
Whether that is true or not, an entire season’s worth of eggs have been lost for this imperiled species. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time for the birds, as thousands of barrels of oil are filling the Gulf daily, claiming the lives of a variety of their finely feathered cousins, crustaceans, plankton and fish of all sort (Including the Blue-Fin Tuna, shrimp and crabs — all of which are featured menu items in the area), as well as one dolphin so far.
Should these endangered birds get trapped in the goop of the Gulf spill, having already lost an entire generation of offspring due to the carelessness of the film crew, it would certainly spell disaster for the entire species.
(It is worth noting that neither BP nor Bombardier are American companies—but rather guests, enjoying American incentives to conduct their business here — while carelessly minding the environment that locals will be left to live with once they return home.)
Jeanne Murphy, an environmentalist related to the sanctuary is reported to have said, “I thought all I had to worry about was the gusher and BP destroying the nesting habitat of this shorebird, what a wake-up call this is … ”