Jersey Shore Edition: Piping Plovers
Jersey Shore Edition: Piping Plovers
Written by Kristine Manganelli (Somerset County 4-H Coordinator)
Adult Piping Plover
I finally made it to the beach for the first time this summer! It is probably the farthest I’ve been from home since March, when the world screeched to a halt. I didn’t realize how much I needed to be in a different place and how much I needed to be in an open space with salty air, until I was there, breathing it all in. They say ocean air is healing, and this has always proved true for me.
I grew up going to Island Beach State Park which is a preserved area of barrier island about 10 miles long. Barrier islands are thin strips of land shaped by storms and ocean tides that run along the coast of New Jersey. Island Beach State Park is positioned between the Atlantic Ocean and the Barnegat Bay. The 3,000 acre park is one of the only undeveloped areas on the entire North Atlantic coast, and is one of the last remaining pieces of barrier island that still has its natural ecosystem. This is what the New Jersey coast would have looked like for the native Lenape tribes who went to the coast for the summer.
Island Beach State Park has a diverse range of habitat including sand dunes, sandy beaches, wetlands, thicket, forest, and tidal marshes where animals like fox, migratory birds, and over 400 species of plants call home. Because of these special qualities, Island Beach State Park has extra protections in place to care for this multitude of wildlife. In fact, sections of the beach are roped off to keep people from disturbing the breeding grounds and nesting sites of endangered birds such as the Piping Plover.
Piping plovers over-winter in the South East United States and the Caribbean. They return to their breeding grounds along Northern Atlantic coasts in late March and April where they will stay until early Fall. In New Jersey they can be found on barrier islands from Cape May to Sandy Hook. Piping Plovers nest between the sand dunes and the ocean above the high tide line, near areas of sparse vegetation and shell pieces. Their white and tan feathers blend in with the sand and shells. While this is helpful to protect them from predators, their camouflage and tiny size makes them particularly susceptible to accidental trampling.
Later in the Spring, males create nests in the sand called scrapes, where females lay 3 to 4 eggs that both parents help incubate and raise. The chicks hatch about 1 month later, and are able to walk and feed themselves right away, sometimes leaving the nest just hours after hatching. In another month, they learn to fly. Adult Piping Plovers have been observed putting on “broken wing displays" if threatened by predators, in attempt to draw attention away from their chicks or eggs.
Newly Hatched Piping Plover Chick
If you are lucky enough to spot a Piping Plover, it will likely be during feeding time as they chase the ebbing waves during low tide. This is when intertidal zones (where the ocean meets the land) are exposed to air, and provides the birds access to their diet of critters found along the shoreline such as crustaceans, mollusks, and marine worms.
Coastal development, sea-level rise, and damage from storms all contribute to loss of habitat which is the main cause of the Piping Plover’s population decline. In addition, they are prey to numerous animals and are vulnerable to disturbance from beach recreation activities.
Piping Plovers were added to New Jersey’s endangered species list in 1984. Since then, the number of nesting pairs has increased in areas like New England, but the numbers have been more stable in New Jersey. Here, the numbers have wavered from a low of 92 in 1989, to a high of 144 in 2016. The most recent counts last year in 2019, showed only 114 pairs. To further illustrate the problem, there are about 85 pairs of gulls for every 1 pair of Piping Plovers. Without continued intervention, it is probable that the Piping Plover will not be able to survive in our state.
However, I can end with some good news! 2019 was a record year with a total of 2,008 nesting pairs counted from Canada to North Carolina. After 35 years of conservation, this marks the first time numbers have hit 2,000 since Piping Plovers were listed as an endangered species. This milestone brings them one step closer to population recovery.
What you can do to help Piping Plovers (and other ocean life!):
Always respect posted nesting or breeding ground signs and do not walk on roped off areas.
Keep dogs leashed near these areas.
When walking on the beach, stay in “safe zones” to avoid nesting areas. Steer away from the dry sand next to the dunes, and instead walk in the wet sand closer to the water.
Fill holes from sand castles and digging that might trap chicks that cannot yet fly.
Be sure to properly throw away your trash when visiting a beach, especially food scraps which can attract predators.
Do not feed animals on the beach.
Do a beach clean-up! Wear gloves and collect trash along the beach. If you can’t make it to the beach, clean-up trash closer to home. Much of it ends up in waterways that lead to the beach.
Use less plastic! Opt for reusable water bottles and say no to straws and plastic bags. As mentioned above, our trash (a majority being single-use plastic products) end up in waterways and on beaches. Plastic can be deadly for animals if mistaken for food.