Predators picking off pairs of N.J.'s piping plovers

Pairs of piping plovers — those small, critically endangered shorebirds that dart along the sand in a frenetic search for food — slumped to a record low in New Jersey this year.

Just 92 pairs nested in the Garden State, down from 108 last year, according to Todd Pover, beach-nesting bird project manager for the nonprofit Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

But the beach-nesting birds spawned a high number of chicks — 1.36 per pair, Pover said. That's the third-highest figure since 1986 and above what's needed to grow and maintain their population in the long-run.

"We're optimistic that that might help us get back to the road of recovery, but for that really to happen, we need several years of good (productivity) like we had this year," he said.

This year's plover count is the lowest number since the federal government listed the species as threatened in 1986, Pover said. New Jersey listed plovers as endangered 30 years ago. They're considered "critically imperiled ... because of their extreme rarity," according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. Officials and bird-lovers take many steps to try to protect piping plovers from predators and human disturbance. They included fencing off plover habitat and erecting wire exclosures around nests.

Pover said predators remain the No. 1 issue, and the worst predator varies site-by-site. Red fox remains "our most critical problem, I'd say, from an animal point of view, and then crows and gulls can be pretty serious problems, depending on the site and circumstances," he said.

While piping plovers did not have a good year at heavily used municipal beaches, superstorm Sandy may have benefited the small birds. That's because it created some of the sparsely vegetated, low-lying beach areas they like, according to Pover.

Scott Barnes, bird programs director for the New Jersey Audubon Society in Plainsboro, said "obviously, it's a little disappointing" that plover numbers aren't higher this year.

Still, "it's encouraging to see they had good productivity this year and hopefully, they'll be around forever," Barnes said.

Piping plover peep-lo

Why are these well-camouflaged birds called piping plovers? Their peep-lo call sounds like it comes from a ventriloquist, and the species is frequently heard before it's spotted, according to government agencies.

Piping plovers are small, sandy-colored shorebirds about the size of robins. Breeding adults have orange legs, a black ring around the base of their necks and across their foreheads, and orange bills with black tips, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In New Jersey, piping plovers return to their breeding grounds in late March to early April. They perform courtship rituals and establish their nesting territory, forming a depression in the sand for their nest. They will sometimes put small stones or shell fragments around the nest, according to the DEP.

The birds prefer nesting in sparse vegetation, which gives them cover from predators and the weather. Nests lie on the beach between the high-tide line and dunes. They avoid nesting in areas with thick vegetation, such as on dunes. Vegetation provides cover for predators, according to the DEP.

Sandy Hook challenges

Sandy Hook continues to be the most important place in New Jersey for piping plovers. Slightly more than half of the state's nesting pairs — 47 — showed up there this year, Pover said. It's been the most important spot for the last decade or so.

Daphne Yun, a spokeswoman for Gateway National Recreation Area, which includes Sandy Hook, said the 47 pairs produced 157 hatched eggs and 66 chicks that fledged, or could fly. That compares with the 43 pairs, 171 eggs hatched and 52 chicks fledged last year, she said in an email.

This year, four eggs were lost to predation and 13 nests were lost for various reasons: three to flooding, three to fox, two to crows and five for unknown reasons, Yun said.

Barnes, of New Jersey Audubon, said Sandy Hook has many summertime visitors and it's a challenge for the park to keep people out of beach-nesting bird zones. He thinks there could be more enforcement in those areas.

"I think in some way there's got to be a little more teeth to these rules to get some more compliance," he said, adding that many people do comply.

"It is challenging for the park staff and Sandy Hook and state game wardens," Barnes said. "They're very few people stretched over a very wide area they have to patrol and piping plovers are just one thing they have to be responsible for."

Yun said in an email that permanent, seasonal and volunteer natural resource staff are posted at the most visited areas to provide education and call park law enforcers when people still choose to enter closed areas.

Law enforcement staffers "respond to calls for assistance from volunteers and staff as top priority and take enforcement action," she said.

Post-Sandy haven

Holgate and Little Beach Island, part of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, had 26 piping plover pairs this year — the second highest number, according to Pover. Both are closed to the public during nesting season.

Before Sandy, Holgate had a typical dune with lots of vegetation and it was unoccupied by piping plovers, he said.

Sandy overwashed the area, pushing sand back and creating ideal, sparsely vegetated habitat for plovers, he said. It also created back bay access for the birds, giving them more feeding options than just a "high energy" surf beach.

Before Sandy, the birds produced a very low 0.21 chicks per pair at Holgate. This year, they produced 2.33 chicks per pair — "an amazing turnaround," Pover said.

Elsewhere along the Jersey Shore, the recent trend is fewer pairs and chicks at sites such as Long Branch and Belmar, where it's always going to be hard to get results, he said.

"The spots we're seeing losses are on our municipal beaches and that's not necessarily surprising," Pover said.