Yes, it was another record-breaking season! Breeding pairs of Piping Plovers hit a record high in 2025 reaching 174 pairs, smashing 2023’s record of 157 pairs. A total of 251 chicks fledged, only one chick shy of reaching 2022’s record number of fledglings, resulting in a productivity rate of 1.44 chicks fledged per pair. Although […]
coastal birds
The Coastal Birds Crew has Fledged!
The 2025 Coastal Birds Project season has officially reached its end. As of Friday, August 22, all of the Piping Plover chicks have fledged and many are already flying south to their wintering grounds—with some flying as far as the Caribbean! This year, Maine fledged 251 chicks, which is just one bird shy of the […]
Make Way For Chicks!
Above photo: A Piping Plover chick on Wells Beach in late May. Photo by Coastal Birds Project Technician Kaily Rich Two weeks ago, the Coastal Birds Crew received some wonderful news: The first Piping Plover chicks of the season hatched! As of May 29, there are 10 chicks running around on Maine’s beaches, and many […]
The Birds Are Back in Town!
Above photo: A Piping Plover pair on Wells Beach in April. Photo by Coastal Birds Project Technician Kaily Rich The Coastal Birds Project 2025 season is already in full swing and Piping Plovers are busy foraging along the shoreline, making scrapes in the sand, and starting their nests all up and down the Maine coast. […]
One Bird’s Winter is Another Bird’s Summer
As the colder weather starts to roll in and snow begins to fly, it makes me envious of the warmer climates where many shorebirds are spending their winters. We all love to watch the Piping Plovers, Spotted Sandpipers, and Willets nest and raise their young over the summer, but have you ever wondered where they […]
Will storm damage to dunes affect plover nesting season?
A question we have been getting a lot with the heavy storms pummeling Maine�s coastlines this winter: How will the Piping Plovers manage the upcoming nesting season with the beaches so damaged? What a great question! Finally, fellow plover biologist Laura Williams and I were able to get away from our desks March 12 and […]
Summer Summary: Record breeding plover pairs but lower fledgling numbers
Another summer, another record-breaking year: For the sixth consecutive season, in 2023 we saw a record high number of breeding pairs of Piping Plovers on Maine beaches. Maine was home to 157 breeding pairs this nesting season, with some pairs nesting in places never before occupied or that had been vacant for many years. However, […]
From the Interns: Spending a Summer with the Piping Plovers
The Coastal Birds project hires seasonal biologists, technicians, and interns every summer to help with Piping Plover and Least Tern conservation on the beaches from York to Georgetown. Every summer, we are fortunate to have energetic students who are willing to do whatever it takes! Here, they share some thoughts about what their experiences were […]