Piping Plover Population on Cape Cod

[huddiecat]

This was posted in the Cape Cod Times today.  I deleted some sections so the post would not be so long, so if anyone wishes to read the entire article, go to the Cape Cod Times website. 

For those unfamiliar with the Piping Plover, they have the sweetest faces!   



ORLEANS — It's a banner summer for piping plovers on Cape beaches, but not so good for people who like to drive pickups, campers and SUVs to hang out on the same shores.

Looking ahead to the July Fourth weekend, just 1.6 miles of beach on Sandy Neck in Barnstable and slivers of beaches in the Cape Cod National Seashore and Orleans are likely to be open for off-road vehicles.

The annual closures are required by federal and state law to protect the endangered plovers. Beaches and parking lots are still open, however, for those who don't want to drive onto the beach.

And there was some good news yesterday for ORV owners unhappy about the complete closure of driving trails earlier this month in the Seashore, Nauset Beach in Orleans and Chapin Beach in Dennis.


The same bird-versus-human drama plays out every summer on Cape beaches. The closings frustrate those who plan vacations around the serenity and fishing available by driving out on the sand. Closures also frustrate towns selling beach permits and local businesses selling ice, gas and fishing equipment.


There were hopes this spring that early-arriving plovers would get their nesting and hatching completed before people arrived in force in July. But the early start seems only to have lengthened the plover season.

This year, program monitors are watching more than 250 pairs of plovers from Revere to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

In the National Seashore, 29 pairs of plovers are still sitting on eggs, while 50 other pairs have hatched 123 chicks, Hall said. So far, the number of plovers is level with last year's numbers, she said.

Fulcher said there's been a dramatic increase in plovers south of Nauset Beach, from five pairs last year to 11 pairs this year.