Conserve Wildlife: End of the Beach Nesting Bird Season
A juvenile piping plover
Photo credit: Chris Kisie
By Christopher Haxter, Seasonal Steward: "Well as summer’s end slowly draws near, the beach nesting bird season has wrapped up on Stone Harbor Point. All of the Piping Plover and American Oystercatcher chicks have fledged (i.e. reached the stage where they can fly). In the past, this has often been a very depressing time. Stone Harbor Point has a bad history of flooding, and many of the nests and chicks were destroyed; some years we only had a couple of chicks fledge. This year, however, there is good news! A total of 13 Piping Plover chicks and 10 Oystercatcher chicks have fledged, from 9 and 21 breeding pairs, respectively! I owe this very successful year to the weather cooperating during the high spring tides; flooding was not a big issue this summer. I also owe my thanks to the public for respecting the rules and staying out of the fenced areas, giving these beach nesting birds the room to successfully fledge their chicks."
Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 8/26/2010 1:00 PM 
Categories: Birds
Tags: stone harbor point piping plover beach nesting birds american oystercatcher
Categories: Birds
Tags: stone harbor point piping plover beach nesting birds american oystercatcher
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