Stolen Piping Plovers?

[BrianS]

Protected birds reported taken in Duxbury
Beachgoers say pair swiped four

By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff | July 23, 2005

Authorities are trying to figure out who took four endangered piping plovers from the sands of Duxbury Beach earlier this month.
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The alleged theft occurred on July 10 in this town 33 miles south of Boston. On that Sunday afternoon, shocked beachgoers reported seeing a woman and a teenager picking up piping plovers from a fenced-off area of the beach.

''A witness saw a 17-year-old male chasing the birds," police Lieutenant Susan James said. ''He caught them, brought them to the woman, and she put them in her shirt. Evidently, there were witnesses who tried to stop her. . . . She said something in Spanish and took off running."

Local officials responded immediately and reported the incident to the Massachusetts Environmental Police. Investigators found no trace of the missing birds or the alleged thieves.

''They searched pretty aggressively," said Corbie Kump, spokeswoman for the state Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. ''We have no leads."

The piping plover is protected by state law as well as the federal Endangered Species Act.

The small, sandy-colored birds build nests along the shoreline and resemble rolling tennis balls as they run. Their nests and eggs blend in with their sandy environment and are sometimes crushed by off-road vehicles or unwary bathers strolling along the beach, according to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.

Throughout the 19th century, piping plovers were hunted for their feathers, which were used to decorate hats. The species was nearly wiped out until federal protection laws were passed in 1918. Since then, piping plovers have slowly recovered.

News of the alleged theft stunned wildlife specialists.

Of the estimated 650 pairs of piping plovers living on the Atlantic Coast today, about 490 of them nest in Massachusetts, said Scott Melvin, senior zoologist with the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.

''Relatively speaking, it's a pretty rare bird," Melvin said. ''I have no idea why anyone would do that. People need to understand this is a serious violation of state and federal wildlife laws."

Under the federal Endangered Species Act, the maximum penalty for such a theft is a $50,000 fine and a year in prison; the state law carries a maximum fine of $500 and 90 days in jail, Melvin said.

A 200-yard section of Duxbury beach is enclosed by a waist-high fence to protect the birds and signs are posted.

Some Duxbury officials speculated that the perpetrators may have planned to eat the piping plovers. Several bird specialists interviewed by the Globe said they had never heard of piping plovers being consumed by humans and doubted that was the reason.

''I hope they were not eaten," said Duxbury's harbormaster, Donald C. Beers III.

''Someone suggested that [piping plovers are eaten] in Brazil. Anything is a possibility. For all I know, they could be in some bird cage somewhere."

''Here we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to protect endangered species and their habitat. . . . I suspect the person who took these birds probably didn't realize the effort we put into protecting and managing these birds," Beers said.

David Clapp, director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society's South Shore sanctuaries, doubted that the motive for the theft was a culinary one.

There are a number of kinds of plovers, Clapp explained. Piping plovers, specifically, do not migrate out of North America.

Piping plovers ''are tiny; nobody eats them. The adults weigh three-quarters of an ounce," said Clapp. ''They're like little puff balls; they're cute."

During the past five years, Plymouth and Duxbury have been leading the effort to help reestablish piping plovers, said Clapp.

In a typical year, 10 to 15 pairs of piping plovers nest on Duxbury beach, according to Clapp. This year, several piping plover nests on the South Shore were washed away during storms, and others were destroyed by foxes.

''These birds have had a miserable season," said Clapp. ''It's a terrible thing, to lose those birds."

Duxbury police and the US Fish and Wildlife Service are handling the investigation. Anyone with information should call Detective Timothy Wigmore at 781-934-5656.