U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)

Protecting one of New Jersey’s Piping plover "broken wing" display Threatened Shorebirds

Introduction Description Habitat and Ecology The piping plover was listed as Piping plovers are small, sandy- Piping plovers inhabit New Jersey a protected species under the colored territorial shorebirds, beaches between March and August, federal Endangered Species Act in approximately 7 inches in length. The arriving at their breeding grounds 1986. Along the Atlantic Coast the bird’s name was derived from its call, in late March through early April. species is designated as threatened, which resembles plaintive bell-like After choosing mates and establishing which means that the population whistles that are often heard before territories, piping plovers scrape will continue to decline if it is not the birds are seen. Breeding adults depressions in the sand to form a protected. The piping plover has been have orange legs, a black ring around nest and lay their eggs. The birds State-listed as endangered in New the base of the neck and across the nest above the high tide line, usually Jersey since 1984. forehead, and an orange bill with a on sandy ocean beaches and barrier black tip. The female’s neck band is islands, but also on gently sloping The Atlantic Coast population breeds often incomplete and is usually thinner foredunes, blowout areas behind on coastal beaches from Newfoundland than the male’s neck band. In winter, primary dunes, washover areas cut and southeastern Quebec to North the black band completely disappears, into or between dunes, the ends of Carolina and primarily overwinters and adults and juveniles look similar, sandspits, and deposits of suitable from North Carolina to Florida. In with pale yellow legs and a solid black dredged or pumped sand. The nests New Jersey, piping plovers nest on bill. Chicks have speckled gray, buff, are frequently lined with shell the coastlines of Monmouth, Ocean, and brown down feathers, black beaks, fragments and often located near small Atlantic, and Cape May counties. orange legs, and a white collar around clumps of vegetation. Plovers will lay the neck. their eggs (up to 4) from mid-April through late June or early July and may renest more than once during the season if earlier clutches are lost. The eggs are well camouflaged and blend extremely well with their surroundings. Both the male and female will incubate the nest for about 30 days. After the eggs hatch, the chicks may be present on the beaches with their parents until the end of August when they are ready to fly.

Piping plover adults and chicks feed Photos: Gene Nieminen / USFWS on marine macroinvertebrates such as worms, fly larvae, beetles, and crustaceans. Feeding areas include the intertidal zone of ocean beaches, ocean washover areas, mudflats, sandflats, wrack lines (organic ocean material left by high tide), and the shorelines of coastal ponds, lagoons, and salt marshes. Piping plover chick Piping plover adult Threats Protecting Piping Plovers in How You Can Help • Habitat loss from commercial, New Jersey • Respect fencing and signs on residential, and recreational In a collaborative, effort the U.S. the beach for the protection of development Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), threatened and endangered species. the New Jersey Department of • Human disturbance Environmental Protection (NJDEP), • Avoid off-road recreational vehicle the National Park Service, the U.S. use on beaches. • Pets (e.g., unleashed domesticated Army Corps of Engineers, municipal dogs and cats) managers, and other federal, State, • Do not approach or loiter near piping and private landowners work together plovers or their nests. • Predation (e.g., foxes, rats, raccoons, to protect piping plovers that breed skunks, gulls, feral dogs and cats) on New Jersey’s beaches. Protection • Do not leave trash on the beaches; it and management for the species attracts predators! • Flooding from coastal storms involves a wide range of strategies including protective symbolic fencing, •Keep your pets off the beach during • Oil spills and other contaminants nest exclosures to deter predators, the piping plover nesting season and restrictions on off-road vehicles and other times of the year, according to Habitat loss results from development recreational usage in nesting areas, your municipality’s dog and/or cat as well as from beach stabilization, and development of site-specific ordinance. beach nourishment, and other physical management plans. The Endangered alterations to the beach ecosystem. Species Act provides penalties for • Do not feed feral cats, gulls, or foxes. Commercial, residential, and taking, harassing, or harming the recreational development reduce the piping plover and affords some • Encourage your municipality to amount of suitable habitat available protection to its habitat. protect federally and State-listed for nesting and feeding. Structures threatened and endangered species such as seawalls, jetties, groins, and The Service’s New Jersey Field such as the piping plover. As a bulkheads promote stabilization Office is promoting its “Coastal Beach first step, municipalities should of the beach and rapidly promote Management Initiative,” to develop develop a Beach Management Plan natural succession, decreasing the site-specific Beach Management with the help of the U.S. Fish and sandy, sparsely vegetated habitat Plans in cooperation with local beach Wildlife Service and the New Jersey required for nesting. Predation on managers and the NJDEP to manage Department of Environmental chicks and eggs is intensified by and protect the piping plover and Protection. development because predators such other beach species. The goal of a as foxes (Vulpes vulpes), rats (Rattus Beach Management Plan is to provide norvegicus), raccoons (Procyon for long-term protection and recovery lotor) and gulls (Larus sp.), thrive in of threatened and endangered species developed areas and are attracted to while recognizing local needs for storm beaches by food scraps and trash. protection, recreation, and public works. Beach Management Plans Human disturbance of nesting birds outline the roles and responsibilities of includes foot traffic, sunbathing, local beach managers, the NJDEP, and kite flying, pets, fireworks displays, the Service. beach raking, construction, and Piping plover chick vehicle use. These disturbances can result in crushing of eggs, failure of eggs to hatch, and death of chicks. Predator exclosure to protect nest Excessive disturbance may cause the parents to desert the nest, exposing eggs or chicks to the summer sun and predators. Piping plovers are U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service vulnerable to domestic animals Ecological Services before and after the eggs hatch. New Jersey Field Office Adult plovers will stagger and act 927 North Main Street, Building D as if they have a broken wing to Pleasantville, New Jersey 08232 distract predators from their nest or P: 609/646 9310 F: 609/646 0352 chicks. Flightless chicks are simply E: [email protected] no match for an agile cat or dog that W: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/ instinctively sees a chick as something njfieldoffice/ to hunt or chase. Camouflaged chicks Federal Relay Service for the deaf can also become trapped in tire ruts and hard-of-hearing 800/877 8339 and be run over by recreational or Piping plover nest municipal vehicles. March 2007