Beach Visitors Asked to Help Protect Nesting Shorebirds this Weekend

Beach visitors are asked to help protect birds that nest in coastal areas, especially during the upcoming beach season.

Piping plovers, least terns, herons, and egrets are especially vulnerable to disturbance from kites, fireworks, and unattended cats and dogs.  Once disturbed, these birds may abandon nesting areas, leaving eggs and hatchlings to die from exposure or predation.

The piping plover, a small sandy-colored shorebird about the size of a robin, is a threatened species under both the federal and state Endangered Species Acts.  The small, gull-like least tern nests in colonies in the same beach habitat as the piping plover and is also classified as a state threatened species. 

In Connecticut, there are only about 30 pairs of piping plovers in just 10 locations and about 100 pairs of least terns.

“We urge beachgoers to keep fireworks and kites, especially kites that make noise, away from beach areas," said Susan Frechette, Deputy Commissioner of the DEP. "We are also asking people to keep their pets leashed and to stay away from fenced areas.”

Both piping plovers and least terns use only a shallow depression in the sand as a nest. The sand color of the eggs and young act as a camouflage protection from predators and makes them hard to see on a sunny beach.  When intruders approach, young piping plovers are likely to stand motionless while the adult tries to attract attention by pretending to have a broken wing or flying around the intruder. 

Herons and egrets also are state-listed species, nesting on islands in Long Island Sound. In an effort to insure that these unique areas are not abandoned, the DEP has completely closed Charles Island in Milford and Duck Island in Westbrook through the nesting season.  These Natural Area Preserves have also received designation as Audubon Important Bird Areas in recognition of their importance for nesting wading birds.