The endangered piping plover has been something of a conservation success story on the New Jersey beaches.
The piping plover is a small, territorial shorebird. Like many human beach visitors, the piping plovers pick out their territory, settle into the sand, play in the water, and watch life go on around them. These birds return to their breeding grounds in late March and early April. After courtship rituals, the mated birds form shallow nests in the sand and line them with shells and small rocks. Plovers lay as many as four eggs at a time; the hatchlings can fly a month after hatching.
Over the years, residential, recreational, and commercial development have severely reduced the amount of costal space available for the piping plover. This only adds to the plover’s natural threats, including:
- Unusually high tides during storms
- Predators like foxes, raccoons, skunks, crows, and gulls
- Predators like domestic dogs and cats
- Trash and food waste from beach-goers can attract more predators to an area
- Hunters and egg collectors (this was more of a problem before the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 than it is today)
- Human disturbances can crush young birds and destroy nests
In 1984, the piping plover was listed as an endangered species in New Jersey by the Department of Environmental Protection. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Atlantic coast piping plover as threatened in 1986.
Over the last two decades, piping plover populations have more than doubled along the Atlantic coast. The New Jersey population has remained stable at around one hundred and twenty mating pairs. We can thank the intense protection and habitat management for the continued survival of these little birds in New Jersey! Most experts believe that the piping plover would not have survived without human intervention.
Here are some ways you can help keep the piping plover alive and well on the Atlantic Coast:
- Stay out of beach areas that are fenced or posted for the protection of shorebirds and other wildlife.
- Do not disturb or approach piping plovers or their nest sites.
- Keep pets off the beach or far away from nesting areas. Most New Jersey beaches do not allow dogs during spring and summer months.
- Don’t leave or bury trash on the beach — it attracts predators.
- Volunteer for the Department of Environmental Protection Beach Nesting Bird Project to help protect beaches, monitor nests, monitor populations, and promote education.
- New Jersey residents can choose a “Conserve Wildlife” special license plate — eighty percent of the cost benefits the NJ Endangered and Non-game Species Program.