Monmouth County Beach Nesting Bird Monitoring & Stewardship Program

The piping plover (Charadrius melodus), a small sandpiper-like bird, nests on coastal beaches from Newfoundland and southeastern Quebec to North Carolina. Once common along the Atlantic coast, piping plover populations were decimated by hunting for the millinery trade in the early 20th century. Passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918 stopped the hunting of these birds and the Atlantic coast population recovered to some extent. Unfortunately, in the past several decades, the population has declined dramatically as a result of disturbance of nesting habitat and breeding conditions.

The piping plover was listed as a protected species under the Federal Endangered Species Act in 1986. Along the Atlantic Coast it is designated as threatened, which means that the population would continue to decline if not protected. In New Jersey, the piping plover was listed as a state endangered species in 1984.

Piping plovers return to their breeding grounds in late March or early April and begin nesting along the barrier beaches in nesting territories. The nest consists of a depression in the sand somewhere on the backshore region of high beach near the foot of the dune system.

Least terns (Sternula antillarum), our smallest tern species, share nesting habitat with piping plovers. Least terns nest in colonies, making shallow scrapes along the beach berm or on large sand flats and overwash areas.

Least tern populations are also declining in much of the Northeast, including New Jersey and are also listed as endangered in New Jersey.

American oystercatchers (Haemtopus palliates), and black skimmers (Rynchops niger) also nest in colonies on beaches as well as islands in estuarine habitats, subjecting them to the same fate of population declination.

All of these species exhibit high site fidelity, so the loss of breeding site habitat could be mean never ending devastation to their populations.

Factors contributing to declines of these colonial nesting birds include:

Disruption of natural coastal processes that create and renew nesting habitats;

Commercial, residential, and recreational development of coastal areas;

Human disturbance associated with recreational beach use such as foot and vehicular traffic;

Harassment by pets, especially dogs; and

Predation by gulls, crow, raccoons, skunks, foxes, and domestic and feral cats.

Beach replenishment projects conducted that have been conducted since the 1990’s have resulted in the creation of nesting habitat along Monmouth County beaches that had not supported piping plovers or least terns in over 20 years. The creation of the nesting habitats in these locations has resulted in expanded monitoring and management responsibilities for New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife Endangered and Nongame Species Program (NJDFW-ENSP).

Since 2001, the Monmouth University School of Science has been involved in assisting with the beach nesting bird monitoring and management prBeach replenishment projects conducted that have been conducted since the 1990’s have resulted in the creation of nesting habitat along Monmouth County beaches that had not supported piping plovers or least terns in over 20 years. The creation of the nesting habitats in these locations has resulted in expanded monitoring and management responsibilities for New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife Endangered and Nongame Species Program (NJDFW-ENSP).P through the Monmouth County Beach Nesting Bird Monitoring and Stewardship Program. This project is currently sponsored by NJDFW-ENSP in cooperation with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

Each summer, Monmouth University interns work side-by-side with state and foundation wildlife biologist to:

Assist with surveys of Monmouth County beaches to assess nesting activity of piping plovers and least terns.

Assist with surveys of Monmouth and Ocean County back bay habitats to assess nesting activity of black skimmers and oyster catchers.

Participate in teams to erect and remove signs, fencing, predator exclosures, and feeding corridors, as well as other related management tasks.

Patrol nesting sites to reduce effects of human disturbance and provide public outreach, especially during periods of heavy recreational beach usage (weekends and holidays).

Assist with daily monitoring of the status of all located nests or nesting colonies including determining the outcome of all piping plover nests, fate of piping plover chicks, and probable cause of nest failures, and reproductive success of least tern colonies.

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