Tag Archives: coastal waterbird program

Partnerships for Plovers: Birdlife International and Mass Audubon

Posted on May 25, 2018 by William Freedberg

An endangered Piping Plover at one of Mass Audubon’s coastal sanctuaries. (Photo by Will Freedberg)

 

This year, Mass Audubon is partnering with BirdLife International to help coordinate migratory shorebird conservation across the hemisphere. By joining the Friends across the Flyway initiative, Mass Audubon can link up with conservation organizations along the Atlantic Flyway to protect species shared across borders.

 

Connectivity Counts

For birds whose ranges cross international borders, it’s crucial that regional conservation groups coordinate with each other. All threatened or endangered shorebirds in Massachusetts spend half the year in migration or at their wintering grounds. Every year, Piping Plovers, Red Knots, and Least Terns migrate to Mexico, the Bahamas, and even Argentina—and they depend on stopover habitats to feed and “refuel” along the way.

Removing just one link in this chain of habitats can spell the demise for an entire population. When making a conservation plan, biologists like to emphasize “habitat connectivity,” or keeping open routes between areas where a species lives. With New England’s shorebirds, this means more than preserving a physical link between protected areas—it means conserving breeding habitat in Massachusetts, wintering habitat in the Southern Hemisphere, and key stopover sites birds use while migrating in between.

 

How We Help In Massachusetts

Mass Audubon’s Coastal Waterbird Program approaches local shorebird conservation from all possible angles. Firstly, Mass Audubon puts boots on the ground—or rather, on the sand—to monitor shorebird populations and develop science-based conservation plans. Then, we work with local and state governments to put those plans into action. This includes setting goals for shorebird recovery, res-siting energy projects, and helping lawmakers identify beaches where shorebirds are threatened by offroad vehicles.

So far, the program has been a huge success! Piping Plover numbers have quintupled in Massachusetts since the program started in 1984.  American Oystercatchers, once a rare sight in our state, now number over 200 nesting pairs.

 

Partnerships Save Species

We’re excited that our Coastal Waterbird Program is linking up with BirdLife and its partners! This suite of organizations can pool resources to protect habitat and produce research on these shorebirds’ global needs. To learn more about Friends across the Flyway, check out BirdLife’s video on Rowan, the cute Red Knot.

Coastal Waterbird Program 2017 Field Recap

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Margo Mercer

Mass Audubon’s Coastal Waterbird Program protected threatened coastal birds through management and education at 194 sites along 162 miles of the Massachusetts coastline in 2017.  A staff of 56 shorebird monitors and trainees installed protective fencing and signage, monitored nesting activity, provided educational opportunities for beachgoers, and engaged landowners in coastal habitat protection.

Piping Plover and chick © Matt Filosa

Protecting Piping Plovers

State abundance of Piping Plover increased to 657 pairs (preliminary data) in 2017 (649 pairs in 2016). Reproductive success throughout the state was poor, and lower than 2016, with a statewide average of approximately 1.0 chicks fledged per nesting pair compared to 1.44 chicks fledged/pair in 2016.  The estimate for sustainable reproduction in Piping Plovers is 1.24 fledged chicks/pair per year. Mass Audubon’s Coastal Waterbird Program protected 216 pairs of Piping Plovers (about 33% of the MA population, and roughly 12% of the Atlantic Coast Population estimated at 1,800 pairs).  Predation, both avian and mammalian, limited productivity on Mass Audubon monitored beaches this season (51% of all known egg losses were attributed to predation), making this the greatest known cause of egg loss.  Overwash was the second highest cause of known egg loss at 38%.

American Oystercatcher with chick © Phil Sorrentino

Terns and Oystercatchers Too

A total of 132 sites were surveyed for tern species; 1,132 pairs of Least Terns (38% of the MA breeding population in 2017) were protected by the Coastal Waterbird Program on 41 sites.  American Oystercatcher abundance in Massachusetts decreased slightly to approximately 186 breeding pairs (approximately 190 in 2016). Forty-five pairs were observed breeding on Mass Audubon protected sites, approximately 24% of the state population, and 47% of nesting attempts were successful in hatching eggs.

Least Tern on nest © Brad Dinerman

The Coastal Waterbird Program continued its work on staging Roseate Terns conducting a prey abundance study at several sites on the outer Cape in late summer.  Our work shows the importance of Cape Cod staging sites in the annual cycle of endangered Roseate Terns—especially in providing habitat to newly-fledged birds undergoing their first 5,000 mile migration to South America.