PLEASANTVILLE, N.J. (AP) - More piping plover pairs nested in New Jersey this year - 114 compared with 98 last year - with an average of 1.24 young per nest reaching independence.
That’s a 19% increase in pairs, according to the 2019 nesting results report by the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife Endangered and Nongame Species Program.
But it’s still not back to the long-term average of 117 pairs, and is well below the peak of 144 in 2003, the report states.
Depredation, particularly by red foxes, continues to plague the endangered species that must build its nest in small impressions on beach sand.
But residents in Brigantine and Stone Harbor have protested state programs to protect the plovers by trapping and killing red foxes there.
Seven Brigantine residents this year were taken to court and fined by the state Department of Environmental Protection for allegedly interfering with the trapping program there by removing traps and taking other actions.
The real problem is the high density of predators, said David La Puma, former executive director of the Cape May Bird Observatory, now with Cellular Technologies of Rio Grande.
The company makes technology to help researchers track bird species.
“There’s data not only for New Jersey but many other states where beach nesting birds are in peril … and where predator density is the main problem,” La Puma said.
At the recent Wilson Ornithological meeting in Cape May, La Puma said a Louisiana Audubon scientist described problems for species with declining population called Wilson’s Plover there.
“There has been coastal restoration work done to create habitat,” La Puma said. “But increases in bird population are lost to predators.”
That’s why it’s important to have a strong predator control program when trying to protect beach nesting birds, he said.
“It’s not pretty. Nobody wants to kill other animals,” La Puma said. “We have put the system out of balance, and we are the only ones who can put it back in balance. Unless we are willing to take that step, we are always fighting uphill.”
Two plover pairs nested at Brigantine North this year, fledging two chicks total. In Stone Harbor, three pairs nested but only one pair had success hatching eggs and a total of two chicks fledged.
Nest enclosures, once considered an important tool for protecting piping plover eggs and hatchlings, is proving to have some disadvantages.
There was an “alarming” 67% increase in nest abandonment, mostly due to adult mortality at nest enclosures.
The mesh enclosures make the plover nests more obvious to predators. They are normally virtually invisible because of the birds’ coloration and the fact they nest directly on the sand.
“From 2008-2012, New Jersey enclosed approximately 70% of all nest attempts,” the report said. Now, state-monitored sites are moving away from using them where adults have been killed near them.
“Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict when an issue may arise, and such was the case in 2019 with several Monmouth County sites plagued by persistent red fox,” the report states. “The decision to use enclosures to increase a nest hatch success versus the potential loss of a breeding adult continues to plague species managers throughout the state.”
The report called the decision to use enclosures or not “perhaps the most difficult decision that is made on a regular basis.”
Northern Monmouth County is still the stronghold for the state, with 49% of statewide pairs nesting there, and the southern Ocean County/Atlantic County area is also doing well.
But while Cape May County saw a small increase this season, only five pairs nested from Ocean City south.
The Holgate and Little Beach units of the Edward B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, combined with the state’s North Brigantine Natural Area, maintained a significant portion of the statewide total, at 42 pairs, or 37%, the report states.
The most significant shift in 2019 occurred at the Holgate unit, where the number of pairs increased 61% compared to 29, the highest recorded pair number there since federal listing in 1985, the report states.
“Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook Unit and E.B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge’s Holgate and Little Beach Units maintain 71% of the statewide population,” according to the report. “The importance of these federal lands in New Jersey is paramount.”
Online: https://bit.ly/2CKV6AD
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Information from: The Press of Atlantic City (N.J.), http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com
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