A record number of breeding pairs of piping plovers nested on Maine's beaches this summer — though fewer chicks appear to have reached flying age.
Maine Audubon is reporting a count of 157 breeding pairs of the birds, which are listed as threatened. That represents a 12% increase from last summer, and more than double the number from five years ago.
Maine Audubon Biologist Laura Minich Zitske said that the population numbers are much higher than what her organization once thought was possible, as only six nesting pairs were reported in Maine 40 years ago.
Zitske said substantial conservation work has made a significant difference in Maine, but the birds haven't recovered in some other areas along the East Coast.
"So it puts a lot more pressure on us and for us to successfully get chicks off the ground, which we've had a lot of success over the last several years. And I think it's more important that we continue to do that," Zitske said.
Zitske said Maine Audubon did see a decline in the number of fledging birds who made it to flying age, which she blames on higher predation and Maine's cooler summer. But she noted several other positive signs, including the discovery of plovers nesting in areas that they hadn't been to in decades.
"We have never seen piping plovers nest on Casco Bay islands, since we began monitoring in 1981. And we had pairs on Chebeague Island, and Long Island for the first time ever," Zitske said.
