From March to August, Egmont Key鈥檚 beaches are colonized by the sights and sounds of thousands of birds nesting and roosting together within the wildlife sanctuaries. Egmont Key has supported more than 35,000 pairs of colonial beach-nesting birds. Royal terns, brown pelicans, and laughing gulls make up the majority of the colony. Known as colonial nesters, these birds find safety in numbers. Although the nesting colonies lie within the closed bird sanctuary boundaries, visitors can see hundreds of these birds foraging around the island鈥檚 shores. In addition, there are many species of wading birds and shorebirds that can commonly be seen.