Breeding Success Salvages a Piping Plover Season with 17-year Low in Nesting Numbers

FALMOUTH, Maine, October 13, 2008—While only 22 pairs of piping plovers returned to Maine this year to nest—the fewest in nearly 20 years—they successfully raised 42 chicks, five more than last year. The birds have federally threatened and state endangered status.

“It was a bittersweet season for piping plovers,” said Jody Jones, Maine Audubon ecologist. “We would have liked to see more adults come back to Maine because good conditions made a productive season for the few that that did return.”

The low numbers of piping plovers nesting in Maine this year continued a steep downward trend from a high of 66 pairs in 2002. A likely cause is the hardships the birds have suffered in recent years, including several storms that washed out nests and eroded prime habitat, an usually high rate of predation and an increased presence of unleashed dogs on the beaches. The birds tend not to return to places where they have had failed nesting attempts.

Piping plovers that did return to Maine, though, bred successfully—nearly doubling last year’s productivity rate when 35 pairs of birds fledged only 37 chicks. Of 30 nests laid this season, none were lost to storms (compared to nearly a third last year) and only a few were abandoned or lost to predators.

This season was not without difficulties, though. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating two incidents where piping plovers died from possible human interference. Also, a low number of nesting pairs makes mate-finding difficult, leaving a portion of the breeding population unpaired and stray male birds that can harass nesting pairs.

Despite these challenges, the birds successfully raised their young on eight beaches this year. Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport produced 15 chicks, followed by Crescent Surf Beach in Kennebunk with nine, Wells Beach in Wells with six, Ferry Beach in Scarborough with four, Goosefare Brook in Saco with three, Ram Island in Cape Elizabeth with three, Parsons Beach in Kennebunk with one and Reid State Park in Georgetown with one.

In its 27th year, the Maine Piping Plover and Least Tern Recovery Project worked throughout the season to monitor adult piping plovers and their chicks, protect nests with signage and fencing, and inform towns and the public about what they can do to help these birds successfully raise their young on Maine’s busy beaches.

The effort is supported by a coalition of groups—starting with Maine Audubon and including the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, and municipalities.

MAINE AUDUBON works to conserve Maine’s wildlife and wildlife habitat by engaging people of all ages in education, conservation and action. For more than 160 years, Maine Audubon has been connecting people with nature and leading science-based conservation in major projects across the state. An independent affiliate of Audubon’s national organization, Maine Audubon has seven local chapters, 11 nature centers and sanctuaries, and 11,000 members and supporters.

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