For Plover Chicks, Chatham's No. 1
By JASON KOLNOS
Staff Writer
CHATHAM - Chatham's ever-shifting South Beach was home to the largest number of piping plover chicks this summer among the 91 coastal sites in Southeastern Massachusetts monitored by the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
A piping plover sits on its nest on a Cape beach. Statewide, predators and bad weather made 2005 a terrible year for piping plover chicks, but the numbers were unexpectedly good in Chatham.
(File photo by Vincent DeWitt)
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But statewide, 2005 was the worst year for plover chick populations in the last 20 years, according to Audubon officials. Bad weather and an increased numbers of predators were among the reasons cited for lower populations.
''This year was particularly rough for plovers because of the two devastating northeasters in May that really upset a lot of the nests,'' said Ellen Jedrey, assistant director for the society's coastal waterbird program. ''I guess Mother Nature had other plans.''
There were 475 plover pairs found in Massachusetts, a 3 percent decrease from the number of pairs found last year, according to Scott Melvin, a senior zoologist with the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Despite those results, South Beach fared surprisingly well - even more so because plovers have not fared as well in this area in the past because of predators, Jedrey said.
At the town-owned beach, which has seen heavy shoaling over the last few years, 37 pairs of the threatened shorebird fledged 49 chicks. This is remarkable considering South Beach had only six nesting pairs in 1987, Jedrey said.
Predator rate down
''South Beach really didn't see many of the predators, like skunks, as it has in the past; probably because of the adverse weather conditions,'' Jedrey said. Only one nest was attacked by predators, he said.
Overall, Chatham as a whole was one of the most fertile grounds for plovers in the state. About 80 pairs were found in the town, accounting for about 5 percent of the 1,600 pairs found from North Carolina to Newfoundland. Massachusetts contains roughly a third of all plovers found along the Atlantic Coast.
''Chatham is one of the most important areas to the entire Atlantic plover population,'' Jedrey said.
The barometer to sustain current populations is 1.24 chicks fledged per pair. South Beach hovered just above 1.3 and the average for Massachusetts Audubon sites was 1.07. Though plovers on South Beach produced the most chicks, the site with the highest productivity was on Dead Neck Sampsons Island in Osterville with 2.11.
Productivity differs
Even though statewide production was low this year, Melvin said the shorebirds' population has quadrupled in the past 15 years. Productivity differs from site to site and state to state, he said.
''Current production levels are disappointing because there are so many people working very hard to protect them,'' Melvin said. ''But we ... expect there would be fluctuations because there are many variables.''
Once a hotbed for plover breeding, the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge saw a large decline this year. In that location, 19 plover pairs fledged 13 chicks, compared with 27 pairs and 45 chicks one year ago, according to refuge manager Mike Brady.
The northeasters ravaged the eastern coastline and caused erosion to parts of South Monomoy. ''It's now like a cliff face down there,'' Brady said.
But on South Beach, the winter storms and last year's washover actually created a prime habitat for the birds, Brady said.
South Beach provides smoother terrain, allowing the birds a 360-degree view of the landscape to watch for predators and search for food. The shallow waters stir up invertebrate stocks and make it easier to find worms, Brady said.
Residents can help plovers from April through August by picking up predator-attracting trash from beaches.
''Hopefully, this year will just be just a blip on the radar screen,'' Jedrey said.
Jason Kolnos can be reached at
jkolnos@capecodonline.com.
(Published: September 19, 2005
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