From Sound To Sea 



A Small Bird With Big Problems 



Natural Wonders of the Coast 



When the tiny piping plover makes a home on the beach, 

 everything and everyone else has to leave. 



This plover is listed as a threatened species in North Carolina 

 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In other states, it's endan- 

 gered. 



When a handful of them were spotted feeding on the beaches 

 near Frisco and Cape Hatteras in July, National Park Service 

 officials immediately closed two short sections of beach. 



This shorebird deserves special attention because its numbers 

 are limited, says James Parnell, an ornithologist at the University of 

 North Carolina at Wilmington. Only about 800 pairs have been 

 sighted nationwide in recent counts. 



"These little birds feed in the intertidal zone at the beach and 

 often nest at the base of dunes and on overwashed flats," Parnell 

 says. "They're beach birds." 



And that's their primary problem. As residents of the immedi- 

 ate beach areas, they are more prone than other species to be 

 affected by human activity. Simply put, their reduction in numbers 

 can be traced directly to loss of habitat through development and 

 beaches crowded with sunbathers and fishermen. 



"That's why there's been a great effort to protect them," 

 Parnell says. 



A major part of that effort has been beach closings, such as 

 the one in July at Cape Hatteras. 



"Each year we close areas to all human activity, including 

 vehicular and pedestrian," says Reis Collier, a biologist at the Cape 

 Hatteras National Seashore. "We put up symbolic fencing — a post 

 with rope and signs — and hope people respect it." 



Unfortunately, though human response has been good, the 

 tiny birds "don't always read signs and notice where the posts are," 

 Collier says. "So we have to do daily patrolling and changing of 

 fences." 



These efforts have been successful. At last count the popula- 

 tion of piping plovers at Cape Hatteras has remained steady, with 

 14 nests reported. 



"The only problem is that those 14 nests produced only one 

 chick that survived to adulthood," Collier says. He points to 

 predation by ghost crabs, feral cats and other birds as the reason 

 for the low mortality of plover chicks. 



"Also, we're on the southern end of the range for piping 

 plovers," he says. "The heat may be too much for them in the 

 summer." 



A new three-year study of piping plover problems is expected 

 to crank up soon, Collier says. Scientists will be studying ways to 

 control plover habitats — including vegetation and beach control 

 — to make them more attractive to the birds. 



Meanwhile, Collier invites people who think they've seen 

 piping plovers nesting in unprotected areas to call him at 919/473- 

 2117. 



How will you know if you've seen one of these rare birds? 

 The following description is from Birds of the Carolina?, by Eloise 

 Potter, James Parnell and Robert Tuelings. 



Piping plovers usually remain singly or in small flocks on the 

 drier portions of beaches and mudflats. 



Eggs are buffy and lightly marked with fine black, blackish- 

 brown and purplish-gray dots. Nests usually contain four eggs, but 

 there may be fewer. The shallow nest dug into sand may contain 

 bits of shell. Nesting probably begins in late April, but a nest with 

 three eggs was found on Ocracoke in July. 



Piping plovers, like most other shorebirds, eat mollusks, 

 crustaceans and other small aquatic animals that they obtain by 

 probing into mud or wet sand with their bills. 



This small bird is white below and gray above with a white 

 rump. Summer birds have a nanow black neck band (often 

 incomplete) and a black band extending across the top of the head 

 from eye to eye. 



Collier says the piping plover's yellow legs and bill are hard 

 to miss. "They also have a distinctive walk and call, both of which 

 are unmistakable," he adds. 



— C.R. Edgerton 



COASTWATCH 15 



