Tag: piping plover

by Todd Pover, Senior Wildlife Biologist

New Jersey Fish and Wildlife has released their annual reports for the 2024 beach nesting bird season and the results were mixed. Piping plovers had one of their worst seasons on record in New Jersey since federal listing in 1986. Least terns also fared poorly, while black skimmers and American oystercatchers posted more promising breeding results.

According to the state report, piping plovers recorded their lowest population in New Jersey in 2024, at just 89 pairs, and statewide productivity was poor, as well, at just 0.54 chicks fledged per pair, third lowest on record. The state’s piping plover population has fluctuated greatly in the past five years, reaching 137 pairs in 2021, close to the peak of 144 pairs, only to now fall to the historic low. While the low pair count is concerning enough in its own right, this year’s poor productivity also doesn’t bode well for next year, as productivity is often strongly linked to short-term population changes for piping plovers. Productivity during the 2024 breeding season was well below both the long-term New Jersey average (1.01) and the federal recovery goal (1.50). Furthermore, productivity has been poor over the past several years, putting future population increases at risk.

Pair counts dropped along nearly the entire Jersey coast, with Sandy Hook having one of the most dramatic losses from 34 pairs in 2023 to 14 in 2024. The population loss there is especially troubling given Sandy Hook was once a stronghold for the state, its piping plover population has been trending downward from just over 50 pairs about a decade ago. Productivity was also very poor at Sandy Hook in 2024, just 0.50 chicks per pair, again this site used to be one of New Jerseys’ productivity hotspots for piping plovers. Holgate, a Unit of the Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, and one of the sites monitored by CWF, continued its recent trend of having the most breeding plovers in the state, with 48 pairs or 54% of the state’s population in 2024. Unfortunately, it experienced especially bad productivity, producing just 0.35 chicks per pair. One of the notable highlights in the state was the Barnegat Light Habitat Restoration Area, a site CWF has had a lead role in creating and maintaining, where 5 pairs produced 10 fledgling or 2.00 per pair.

Although New Jersey’s least tern population was surprisingly robust this year with 1,436 total adults recorded, two concerning recent trends for this colonial species continued in 2024. The number of colonies dropped to just 11, the lowest since 1976. Productivity for the state’s least terns was poor, only 146 fledglings were recorded. The highlight was the TNC South Cape May Meadows site, where 80 fledglings were produced.

Black skimmers were also only present at just a few colonies in New Jersey in 2024 – three known active colonies at Holgate, Horseshoe Island, and Stone Harbor Point – the lowest number of colonies documented since 1976. On the other hand, their population, with 2341 adults, was on the high side of the past 20-year range and they had a very good season productivity-wise. Strong results were seen at all three colonies, resulting in nearly 1000 fledglings produced overall. Horseshoe Island had the state’s largest colony with 1,347 breeding adults, helping demonstrate the importance of the recent conservation efforts at this relatively new site.

American oystercatcher data are more difficult to assess, as only a portion of the state’s breeding population is monitored, with most of the marsh nesting breeders, which account for a significant portion, left unmonitored. At 155 pairs in 2024, those oystercatchers regularly monitored – primarily the sandy beach strand population – continued their steady long-term growth trend over the past two decades or so since regular monitoring began in New Jersey.

Productivity was also strong for the oystercatchers in New Jersey in 2024, clocking in at just over 0.50 chicks fledged per pair, which is the recovery target. As a long-lived species, annual productivity goals are lower for American oystercatchers, compared to the shorter-lived piping plovers. Among the highlights for American oystercatchers in New Jersey this year were Holgate with 53 pairs, the most in the state, producing 0.79 fledglings per pair and Horseshoe Island recording an average of 1.50 fledglings from 16 pairs, both of these being sites CWF helped monitor and manage.

Read the full 2024 NJ Piping Plover Nesting Results

Read the full 2024 Beach Nesting Bird Project Report

 

 

by Todd Pover, Senior Wildlife Biologist

This year was an especially challenging one for beach nesting birds in New Jersey. Most of the species fared poorly on a statewide basis, and even though they can withstand periodic down years, several trends are worrisome to biologists and wildlife managers.

The state’s piping plover breeding population remained the same as last year with 118 pairs, which is also about the same as the long-term average since federal listing. However, productivity was just 0.53 chicks fledged per pair, the second lowest since federal listing and well below the levels believed necessary to grow the population. Of particular concern, productivity has been low for three consecutive years after a number of years of above average success. Productivity is one of the main drivers of population (up or down) and small populations are especially sensitive to even small changes, so it is expected that the population is likely to drop over the next few years, further stagnating plover recovery in the state.

Meanwhile, there was a record number (53) of breeding pairs of piping plovers at Holgate, a unit of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, that is monitored by CWF through a cooperative agreement with the Refuge. This positive trend, almost a four-fold increase has occurred since Superstorm Sandy enhanced the habitat for plovers at the site, has been an ongoing highlight for the state in recent years. Nonetheless, it has not been accompanied by similar increases elsewhere in the state, so it has not led to any statewide recovery. Productivity for the large concentration of piping plovers at Holgate was above the statewide average in 2023 but the lowest level over the past decade, so it was also a down year for this site, where expectations typically run high that it will help boost statewide productivity.

Continue reading “New Jersey’s Beach Nesting Birds Struggle in 2023”

By Sherry Tirgrath, Wildlife Biologist

As we approach the official, and unofficial, beginning of summer, many warm-weather loving citizens of New Jersey are pulling out their swimwear, purchasing their SPF and preparing to flock to the Jersey Shore and contribute to some of the worst traffic seen around the country. It’s important, however, to take a step back and remind oneself to be certain that their beach activities will not affect the livelihood of other creatures that are just trying to survive in the only habitat that can support them. Both Memorial Day Weekend and July 4^th holidays occur during the season that beach-nesting birds are incubating eggs and raising chicks. This makes for some conflict between beachgoers and coastal wildlife, so it’s necessary to bring more awareness to the presence of the birds and the importance of giving them space.

Beach-nesting birds are called just that because they depend on undisturbed, sparsely vegetated, and stabile coastline to breed, lay eggs, and raise their young. They nest directly in the sand and their eggs are sand-colored and camouflaged against predators. This also makes them difficult for people to see, and without proper monitoring and protection measures, they can wind up being run over or stepped on. Small chicks, like those of the piping plover, are tiny and very mobile shortly after hatching. While the parents do their best at corralling their chicks and keeping them away from people, sometimes the chicks wind up under a beachgoer’s umbrella seeking shade or wandering too close to potential danger. Anyone with small children would understand the difficulty in keeping their kids from running off somewhere they’re not supposed to go, especially when they can have up to four of them at once. The chicks must forage to feed themselves, so being very mobile increases the likelihood of them finding small invertebrates to eat.

Continue reading “How to Advocate for Beach-nesting Birds During the Holiday Weekends”

By Amy Kopec
CWF Beach Nesting Bird Field Technician

People usually go to the beach looking for something; whether it’s shells, sea glass, or just some relaxation and better tan lines. I too am searching for something when I walk Holgate, a three and a half mile stretch of National Wildlife Refuge beach on the south end of New Jersey’s Long Beach Island. And while I do end up with a tan and some old glass bottles, that’s not really what I’m there for. What I’m actually looking for can be quite a bit harder to find.

Although estimates are hard to come by, a recent NPR segment claimed there are only about 8,000 Piping Plovers left in the world. As a designated endangered species, these beach nesting birds are given certain legal protections, and the states they are found in receive funding for research and conservation. These studies are where I come in. Over the last three summers, I have worked in two different states (Massachusetts and New Jersey) monitoring and studying Piping Plovers as they nest. These little birds are up against a lot of challenges during their breeding season–from habitat loss to flooding to predation. There is no easy solution for the recovery of this species. The variable nature of beaches from one season to the next means these birds have to be carefully monitored. And each year I seem to encounter something new while I’m searching the beach.

Continue reading “Beachcombing for Plovers”

By Sherry Tirgrath

Ground-nesting birds in New Jersey face many difficulties and threats that most other birds typically do not struggle with. Joey and Hamlet, the piping plover pair at National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt, were not exempt from those hardships this nesting season. We know our readers have been waiting for an update on the pair, and as a warning, their story did not end well this year. Joey lost his mate, Hamlet, to a predator attack just days before their chicks would hatch. Her body was found not far from their nesting site- evidence pointing to a bird of prey taking her out. Piping plovers and other beach-nesting birds can be easy targets for owls and falcons. They incubate their nests out in the open without the cover of dense vegetation. Man-made structures along the NJ coast often serve as roosts for raptors to monitor an area and pick out vulnerable prey. Hamlet was, unfortunately, a victim of nature taking its course, and Joey was left to rear the chicks on his own.

Continue reading “A Rough Year for Piping Plovers at National Guard Training Center”

by Todd Pover, Senior Wildlife Biologist

Holgate, a unit of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, is having another record year for piping plovers. A total of 49 pairs have nested at the site this year, up from 46 pairs in 2021, which was also a record, by far, from the previous high for the site. Since Superstorm Sandy devastated much of the New Jersey coast in October 2012, the number of piping plovers nesting at Holgate has increased fourfold. 

Continue reading “Holgate – Record Breaking Site for Piping Plovers”

by Sherry Tirgrath

It’s officially chick season for the beach-nesting birds of New Jersey, and some of the first, fuzzy babies of the year were hatched at National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt. Piping plovers, Joey and Hamlet, laid their third nest together after first nesting at NGTC in 2019. The pair both had different partners that year, but got together in 2020 and fledged three chicks together for two years in a row. This year, the pair had the first confirmed nest in the state and diligently incubated their eggs during the entire month of May. The nest was anticipated to hatch over Memorial Day Weekend.

Just a couple days before the chicks made their appearance, tragedy struck. Hamlet was not seen for a couple days, and fear started growing that something had happened to her or she abandoned the nest, which would be very unlikely for such a devoted and successful veteran mother. When the chicks finally hatched from their eggs on May 29^th and only Joey was seen tending to them, some investigating was done into Hamlet’s disappearance. Her body was found at the edge of NGTC property, likely predated by an owl or other bird of prey, as evidenced by the condition of her body. As tragic and sad as her death was, it’s a wonder that her body was found at all. In many cases, there’s no closure for piping plover disappearances. Joey was left to raise his chicks as a single father, receiving praise and encouragement from everyone following his story. 

The chicks have reached the 10-day mark as of June 8^th, and appear healthy and strong. Only two have made it this far, but Joey is doing an excellent job on his own protecting them from threats and keeping them in line. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that both chicks make it to fledging, and Joey can keep up his excellent fatherhood record. It’s unknown if Joey will seek a new mate next year or retire from parenthood, but for now, we are saddened by the end of the era of Joey and Hamlet. 

Monitoring of beach-nesting birds takes time and commitment from our team of biologists and seasonal technicians. The largest piping plover breeding population in New Jersey resides at our Holgate site, where pairs, nests and hatched chicks are observed and tracked nearly every day during the nesting season. Nests north of that site are sparser and face many threats from human disturbance and high predator presence. While the coastal piping plover population is still struggling, CWF continues to fight to protect our state’s rare species and educate the public about the importance of respecting wildlife.

by Meaghan Lyon, Wildlife Biologist

The well-known Piping Plover pair, Joey and Hamlet, has been monitored by Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF) at the Sea Girt National Guard Training Center (NGTC)  for three nesting seasons (check out our last blog on Joey and Hamlet’s arrival here!

Continue reading “Joey & Hamlet’s History”

by Sherry Tirgrath, Wildlife Biologist

As the piping plovers of New Jersey return to their coastal breeding grounds from their wintering range, a familiar pair has been spotted at the National Guard Training Center (NGTC) in Sea Girt. The pair, dubbed “Joey” and “Hamlet”, have nested at NGTC for 3 consecutive years and are back for their 4th nesting season in 2022. The first of the pair was noticed on site on March 22nd, seemingly resting after a long journey. The second plover was spotted the morning of March 25th and the two have been foraging and roosting together since. The same day that the second plover of the pair arrived, 7 more piping plovers were found roosting near the south boundary of NGTC’s beach. That group has moved on, but Joey and Hamlet have remained to reclaim their territory.

Joey and Hamlet were both banded as chicks in 2018 at Sea Bright, NJ. They have successfully raised chicks at NGTC since they began nesting there in 2019. Prior to their initial arrival, piping plovers had not nested at that site for over a decade. Upon their first arrival at NGTC’s beach in 2019, Joey and Hamlet were paired with different mates. Joey nested with an unbanded female and fledged 2 chicks, while Hamlet nested with a male plover named “Bo”. However, the chicks from their nest did not survive to fledging. Joey and Hamlet paired up in 2020 and fledged 3 chicks together that year and 3 again in 2021. Overall, the pair is highly productive at this site, which signifies that piping plovers will continue to nest here in the future.

Other beach-nesting birds also frequent the site. Least terns, a state-endangered species, and American oystercatchers, a species of special concern, have both nested on site in the past. However, in 2019, predation by red fox resulted in a least tern colony losing 14 nests and 5 chicks, with only one chick surviving to fledge. Since then, the terns have roosted on site but have not attempted to nest. American oystercatchers also roost on site each year but have not had any successful nest attempts in the last few years. Red fox caused nest failures in 2019 and 2020, with no attempt made to nest last year in 2021.

To encourage beach-nesting birds to return and nest at NGTC, a variety of management strategies have been carried out to provide a more optimal nesting habitat. Vegetation thinning was performed in an established protection area to create more space for shorebirds to choose from with plenty of vegetation left to provide shelter and camouflage from people and predators. Shell fragments were deposited in the habitat for use by the shorebirds for lining their nests. The fragments are used to disguise nests as the eggs blend in well with the sand and broken shell pieces. Least tern decoys were also placed around the protection area to encourage the terns to roost and hopefully nest on site again. Although plovers are territorial and won’t nest together, least terns prefer to roost and nest in colonies to maximize protection and defense. The decoys may draw them to investigate the site and stick around.

Fingers are crossed for another productive season for Joey and Hamlet at NGTC, and there’s hope for other beach-nesting birds to return to utilize the site for raising chicks, as well.

By Todd Pover, Senior Wildlife Biologist

With 2021 coming to an end, we thought it would be fun to look back at this year’s beach nesting bird season in New Jersey, focusing on some of the surprises.

At the top of the list is the huge jump in our piping plover breeding population, up to 137 pairs from just 103 in 2020, an unprecedented 33% increase in one year and the third highest on record for the state since federal listing. This was a much-needed bump, as productivity has been high over the past few years, but we weren’t seeing any sustained growth in the population as a result as would be typical. So, when the final pair number was tallied this year, we were both relieved and surprised at how big it was! The challenge now will be to maintain that higher level or increase it even more, as it has fluctuated up and down quite a bit in recent years.

Continue reading “A Year of Surprises – New Jersey’s 2021 Beach Nesting Bird Season”