A Florida helicopter pilot was charged this week by the state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) for landing on a closed shorebird nesting area.
Ernesto Cordero was charged with harassment of nesting birds, a misdemeanor, for allegedly damaging eggs of protected species and scattering hundreds of shore birds after smelling fuel when he landed at Egmont Key State Park. Fox 13.
He was also accused of landing the helicopter in a state park and entering a restricted area.
According to the FWC, the shorebirds are congregating at the wildlife refuge to breed.
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Video shows the pilot landing in the Bird’s Nest area. (Courtesy of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, FOX 13)
Cordero told FOX 13 he feared the helicopter was leaking fuel and chose to land on an island wildlife refuge at the entrance to Tampa Bay rather than risk a crash.
FWC investigators said witnesses reported seeing a woman exit the helicopter to take photos at a closed nesting site for black skimmers and sandwich terns. Cordero said she was able to check for leaks without exiting the helicopter, adding that she did not radio in for an emergency.
“It’s their home and we’re going there so we need to respect that,” Captain Robin Lela of Hubbard Marina told FOX 13.
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Birds of Egmont Key State Park, Florida. (FOX13)
The Tampa Bay Times, citing Flight Aware, reported that Cordero was flying a corporate helicopter owned by CC Landscape Warehouse Plus, a Bradenton, Florida-based company that Cordero is listed as the company’s owner.
Cordero eventually made landfall south in Punta Gorda, according to the Times.
A pelican swims at Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge. (Nick Ameen/U.S. Coast Guard via Bloomberg)
“Our seabirds and shorebirds have inherent value and they have a right to live on our beaches,” Audrey DeRose Wilson with Audubon Florida told FOX 13. “But if you’re talking about the value they give us, they’re indicators of healthy, functioning ecosystems that benefit all of us.”
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Audubon Florida said wind from the helicopter’s blades when the pilot landed likely damaged eggs at the nest site.
Cordero is due back in court on July 1. News Station.
