WATCH YOUR STEP!

Piping Plover Help protect ’s nesting birds. Nests and chicks are sensitive to your presence from April through September. Please: 1 Respect all posted bird nesting areas. Do not enter nesting colonies. 2 Leave your dogs at home. They may step on nests and chase birds. 3 Avoid the berm, dunes, washovers, and backside mudflats. 4 Remain below the last high tide line to avoid disturbing chicks or damaging eggs. 5 Be aware of birds calling loudly from the beach or over your head. They are letting you know that you are too close to a nest or hidden chicks. See the egg hidden in the sand? That’s why 6 Teach others to appreciate the beauty it’s so important to walk below the high tide and wildlife of Virginia’s barrier islands. line whenever possible. all of these unpredictable Black Skimmer You’re just visiting, circumstances are in their Skimmers are black above and white below with favor. Most importantly, long, slender wings. The lower part of their knife-

but for these birds, photography they need undisturbed Black Skimmer shaped black and red bill is longer than the nesting sites near good upper part. They feed by ‘skimming’ the water’s

the beach is home. feeding areas, favorable surface with their bills to catch small fish. by : f .

truslow weather, and few predators. Skimmers nest in colonies on washovers and From April through early September, thousands of have a distinct ‘barking’ call. (

birds nest on the beaches of Virginia’s barrier vireo

islands. The islands provide important breeding ), PEOPLE ON THE BEACH CAN MAKE

brad TERNS

NESTING EVEN TOUGHER. areas for several bird species whose populations winn Several species of terns (

are declining or that are considered threatened or georgia breed on Virginia’s barrier People using the beaches during the breeding endangered. Life on the beach can be tough, islands. All are whitish,

department season present an additional challenge to beach- and these birds need your help to survive. slender-winged birds that nesting birds and may unknowingly impact the birds’

aggressively defend their of chances of success. Someone wandering through a

Beach-nesting birds, such as the natural nests by swooping down on nesting area may accidentally step on well-

Black Skimmer, lay their eggs resources intruders. Some tern species camouflaged eggs or chicks. Dogs can quickly find directly into shallow depressions nest in colonies on and destroy nests or chase young birds. Additionally, ),

in the sand. The eggs and nests michael washovers, often with Black people and pets venturing too close to nesting sites are very hard to see against the Skimmers, while others nest

costello cause adult birds to leave their nests, exposing sandy background. Some in the marsh. chicks and eggs to predators or excessive (

species nest in colonies that cornell Least Tern temperatures. Trash left in nesting range in size from two to over a PIPING PLOVER

Wilson’s Plover lab areas attracts raccoons and A federally threatened species, this small ghostly

thousand pairs of birds and can of

ornithology gulls, and places the birds in be very noisy and conspicuous. solitary-nesting shorebird is well camouflaged greater danger of being Others, such as the Piping Plover against the background of a beach. They are

), discovered by predators. sand colored above, white below with a black

are less noticeable because they breed in lawrence breast band, and have a short orange and territories defended by a single pair. Once the You can help protect

wales black bill. You may not notice Piping eggs hatch, adult birds raise their young along the these beach-nesting (

cornell Plovers until you hear their soft whistling beaches, dunes, mudflats, and marsh edges of birds so that they call warning that you are close to

the islands where the chicks can feed and hide lab continue to grace

until they are able to fly. By learning about these of a nesting territory on the berm Virginia’s coastal environment. ornithology or washover. vulnerable birds and their breeding habits, you Before visiting the islands, can help ensure that they successfully raise young become familiar with the various ), Wilson’s Plover and that they continue to be a part of the rich richard beach habitats the birds call home An endangered

biodiversity of Virginia’s barrier islands. kusminski by referring to the diagram on the inside species in Virginia, this of this brochure.

( shorebird is slightly u . s .

NESTING ON THE BEACH fish bigger than the Piping Plover and has

CAN BE TOUGH. and LEARN TO RECOGNIZE BARRIER ISLAND darker upperparts and a more upright

wildlife BEACH-NESTING BIRDS. posture. Wilson’s Plovers have a single

Beach-nesting birds have to beat some hefty service dark breast band and a heavy black

odds to successfully produce young on Virginia’s ) American Oystercatcher bill. They nest on washovers and barrier islands. Natural threats such as storm Oystercatchers are striking brown, black, often sneak around dune grass waves and extremely high tides can wash out and white shorebirds with long, orange-red and beach debris, making them large numbers of nests or drown flightless chicks. bills. They defend solitary nesting territories difficult to detect. Their high- Predators such as raccoons, foxes, gulls, and on the berm, dunes, washovers, and high marsh pitched alarm call announces crows who love to feast on eggs, chicks, and areas. Their loud, high-pitched call will let you know American Oystercatcher you are too close to a nest. occasionally adult birds, also are significant when you are too close to a nest or chicks. threats. Breeding birds are only successful when Virginia Barrier Island Ownership

Who Owns Virginia's RT 679 Greenbackville Harbor RT 679 Barrier Islands?

The islands are owned by public and private agencies. Call the numbers below before RT 175 East Side Boat Ramp planning a trip to the Barrier Islands. Many islands are seasonally closed to protect beach Assateague Island nesting birds.

Wisharts Point Landing The Nature Conservancy Hallwood RT 679 Call (757) 442-3049 Wallops Island RT 689 www.nature.org/vcr

Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries RT 13 Call (804) 829-6580 RT 680 Assawoman Island www.dgif.virginia.gov Gargatha Landing RT 666 Dept. of Conservation and Recreation Call (757) 787-5989 Parkers Creek Landing www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage Metompkin Island Folly Creek Landing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Refuges Chincoteague NWR – Call (757) 336-6122 www.fws.gov/northeast/chinco/

RT 13 RT 605 Cedar Island Eastern Shore of Virginia NWR – Call (757) 331-2760 www.fws.gov/northeast/easternshore/ Fisherman Island NWR – Call (757) 331-2760

RT 600 Wachapreague Town Dock National Aeronautics and Space Administration Wallops Flight Facility – Call (757) 824-1720

RT 605 sites.wff.nasa.gov/code250/ Quinby Harbor Parramore Island Boating Access & Seaside Water Trail Willis Wharf Harbor Public Access Sites Revel Island Seaside Heritage Program Canoe/Kayak Water Trail

RT 600 For more information on access to the islands and the Virginia Seaside Heritage Program including the Red Bank Boat Ramp Canoe/Kayak Water Trail go to: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/ Hog Island CoastalZoneManagement/CZMIssuesInitiatives/ VirginiaSeasideHeritageProgram.aspx

RT 600

RT 13 Eastville Cobb Island RT 631 Little Cobb Island 0 4 8 12 16

RT 600 Oyster Harbor Ramp Mockhorn Wildlife Wreck Island Management Area Cape Charles Ship Shoal Island Miles

RT 600 Myrtle Island This brochure was funded in part by the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program Kiptopeke State Park through grants from NOAA under the federal CZMA and in part by the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries through a grant from the USFWS Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Project WE99R14. Exterior text, graphics, photos and layout are Eastern Shore Smith Island based on a similar brochure developed by the Hauser Group for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Nongame Wildlife & Natural Heritage Section. A special thanks to of VA National our friends in Georgia for use of their materials. Text was adapted by several Virginia Wildlife Refuge Seaside Heritage Program partners whose logos appear above. Map data provided by Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission, The Nature Conservancy and Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Final design was developed by the Fisherman Island Virginia Office of Graphic Communications, Department of General Services. 2nd Printing - July 2012

BARRIER ISLAND BIRD NESTING HABITATS

Ocean or Inlet Intertidal Zone Berm Dune Back Dune Mudflat Saltmarsh

Nesting habitat Nesting habitat for ground nest- Nesting habitat for shorebirds, waterfowl, Critical Nesting Area below the high tide line for ground ers such as shorebirds, gulls and songbirds, herons and egrets feeding area habitat for is safe for human traffic and pas- nesters such as an occasional least tern for shorebirds marsh sive recreational activities terns, skimmers and their young dependent and shorebirds species such as rails and several species of gulls, waterfowl, shorebirds, terns and some songbirds

Washover A large flat expanse of beach, created by major storm events, that forms an extension of the berm to the backside of the island. Washovers are important nesting areas for ground nesters such as shorebirds, terns, and black skimmers. PLEASE AVOID WALKING OVER OR THROUGH BIRD NESTING HABITATS DURING THE BREEDING SEASON. PLEASE REMAIN IN THE INTERTIDAL ZONE AND STAY ON WET SAND.