Public Asked to Protect Endangered Piping Plovers Along Seacoast

CONCORD, N.H. - The New Hampshire Fish and Game Dept. is asking for the public's help protecting piping plovers, an endangered species of bird, along the beaches of Hampton and Seabrook.

According to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Dept., there are six pairs of piping plovers nesting along the sandy shores of Hampton and Seabrook. The birds are endangered in New Hampshire and threatened nationally.

In the areas of Seabrook and Hampton, their breeding habitat has been fenced with yellow roping to indicate the birds’ presence to beach-goers and to allow the mating pairs space to nest and raise their young.

“Our goal is to protect these rare birds during their breeding season and manage the beaches for both people and wildlife,” said Brendan Clifford a biologist with the Fish and Game’s Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program who oversees the piping plover protection effort. “The cool, wet spring may be delaying some nesting this year – nests that may have ordinarily been established in late April may be pushed back a week or two.”

“The sooner the birds nest, the sooner the chicks will hatch and grow big enough to be able to fly. Once the chicks are about 30 days old, they can fly and escape from danger and we can take down the fences that protect their breeding habitat and open up the whole beach for recreational use,” explained Clifford.

Within just a few hours of hatching, piping plover chicks are able to walk and feed on their own. The first few weeks after hatching are the most crucial, because the chicks are very small and hard to see and extremely vulnerable to natural predators such as gulls, crows, foxes, and domestic animals, including cats and dogs.

Clifford warned humans can be as bad as animal predators.

“We have had occasional incidences where people have deliberately vandalized fencing meant to protect the birds and even stolen eggs right out of the nest,” Clifford said. “We are continuing to educate people in hopes of minimizing instances of human disturbance.”

Beachgoers can make a big difference in whether or not piping plover chicks survive to fledgling age. Here’s how you can help:

• Watch where you step – A plover chick’s defense mechanism is to freeze when people get close, which makes it difficult to see. The chicks are about the size of a cotton ball and light colored, so they blend in with the sand.
• Leash your dog – Free-running dogs can accidentally step on and crush eggs and chase after the chicks and adult plovers. Hampton Beach State Park and the Town of Seabrook both have restrictions regarding dogs on beaches during the summer. People should check before bringing their dog on any public beach.
• Fill in holes – Holes in the sand are traps for the tiny chicks that can’t fly. Filling in any holes on the beach helps the chicks move about and find the food they need to grow strong and be able to fly.
• Volunteer!– Volunteers will be needed to help with monitoring once the plover chicks begin to hatch in early June. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact the NH Fish and Game Department Piping Plover Monitor at 603-419-9728.

Since 1997, when protection efforts began in New Hampshire, through 2017, 113 nesting pairs of plovers have fledged 147 chicks on the state’s seacoast. New Hampshire’s efforts are part of a region-wide protection program; overall, the Atlantic coast population of piping plovers continues to hold steady at slightly below 2,000 pairs.

Courtesy Photo / NH Fish and Game