endangered birds hatch at Hampton Beach

Two weeks ago, Hampton Beach State Park witnessed a rare event: the hatching of four piping plover chicks. The birds are more significant than their small size suggests.

Piping plovers are an endangered species in New Hampshire, meaning their population is not sustainable in the state. In fact, there are currently only six plovers in the entire state, and one nest is located at Hampton Beach State Park. “There were originally three nests here, but two were destroyed by storms and the one nest that made it through didn’t end up hatching,” said N.H. Fish and Game’s plover monitor Samantha Niziolek, who keeps a close watch on hatchlings and their nests. “But one that re-nested had some chicks.” This nest was home to four chicks, but so far only two have survived.

Why are piping plovers so much more vulnerable than other coastal Atlantic birds, like seagulls and sandpipers?

“Seagulls are more adaptable with their nesting. A species can become extinct if their requirements for survival become too specific, and piping plovers have a very specific breeding area. If people harass their nest areas, they’ll just leave,” Niziolek said. “The chicks are also very, very vulnerable. They’ll get stepped on or a beach blanket thrown on them. They’re really about the size of a cotton ball. Plovers also nest right on the ground and their eggs match the color of the sand, so they’re very easy for people to step on without noticing.” Weather and predation are also huge threats to plovers, whose chicks make a tasty meal for feral and domestic cats.

The plovers’ situation is not entirely unique in the area. Out of 200 species of birds that nest in the state, 19 are on the threatened or endangered species list. “Lots of birds are struggling in the beach habitat, like the least tern,” said Becky Suomala, a biologist at the N.H. Audubon Society. “They don’t even nest anymore. They haven’t for many, many years. Like plovers, they were forced off beaches by loss of habitat and predation. The primary reason is that there’s so much pressure on that habitat. Everyone and everything wants to use it.”

Coastal salt marsh habitats are experiencing similar pressures. Development efforts have resulted in the loss of many marsh areas, and resulting drainage can cause a re-configuration of the entire ecosystem. “Jet skis can also cause problems for birds that nest right on the edges of the waterways because they create a wake,” Suomala said. “Invasive species are a problem, too. There’s a grass called phragmites, which replaces the natural vegetation that the birds use for nest areas.”

Plovers spend their winters by the Gulf of Mexico and come north for the breeding season. Some birds head to the northern Great Plains, while others head to the Great Lakes or the northern Atlantic Coast. Despite extended efforts by the Fish and Game Department and people like Niziolek to protect the birds’ nesting grounds, the plover population has stayed relatively stagnant in recent years. “The past few years, we’ve kept it steady at like 1,500 birds along the coast, but our goal is 2,000. That’s when the population becomes stable,” Niziolek said. “We’ve only been getting an average of two chicks per season in New Hampshire that make it to adulthood.”

The low statistics for plover survival in New Hampshire compared to other coastal states seem to stem mostly from a difference in beach availability, Niziolek explained. “Massachusetts has hundreds of plovers, but New Hampshire only has six,” she said. “Massachusetts actually closes down some beaches when they get a lot of plovers, but in New Hampshire, we just can’t afford to do that. We just don’t have enough beaches.”

What will it take for plovers to make a comeback in the area? Much of the burden lies with beachgoers.

“A lot of people have questioned whether we’re just fighting a losing battle here, but I personally don’t think so,” Niziolek said. “I think they can recover. It’s just a matter of people respecting their habitat. People living in these beachfront houses think because they pay a ton of money in property taxes they can just walk wherever they want. Our program has very little respect in New Hampshire. People just don’t respect the ropes we put up to protect them. They just go in there and play catch anyway.”

The lack of tangible progress with the birds’ recovery has led to falling support for habitat conservation programs, making the plovers’ future in New Hampshire look even bleaker. But with some pleasant weather and a little more respect from shore residents for their fellow beach-dwellers, these little birds just might make it.