|
We would like to hear from you. Does this report give you the information on Connecticut's environment that you need? Is there something missing? Mail: Phone: Fax: E-mail: |
Indicators: Sound + ShorePiping Plovers on the BeachSeventy-four of these small, threatened shorebirds nested on 15 coastal beaches, including beaches in Groton, Stonington, and Westbrook where they had been absent for decades.
Piping plovers are small shorebirds that nest on sandy, vegetation-free beaches. Human intrusion, storm tides, and predators frequently destroy nests. Nesting adults are counted and in most cases protected every spring by the DEP and volunteers working with The Nature Conservancy. The piping plover's status is "threatened." The protections afforded these plovers also benefit other nesting species, including least terns, which are also threatened in Connecticut. Since protection and monitoring efforts began in 1984, nesting success has improved, resulting in more returning adults in subsequent years. Yearly variations can occur when adult birds move from one state to another. Diminishing habitat and more disturbances are forcing many birds to nest within the vegetation zone and below the storm tide line where predation and washout took a toll in 2002. There was an increase in plovers in 2003, with nests in two locations that had not been used in recent years, and again in 2004 when birds nested in three new locations. In 2005, birds did not return to the new sites, but pairs again tried three new locations in 2006.
| |
| ©2007 State of Connecticut. All Rights Reserved | ||
