The endangered piping plover has started appearing on southern Maine beaches, signaling the start of the annual plover season, when dogs and people must take extra care not to disturb the birds or their nests.

The plover season officially starts on April 1, but according to Laura Minich Zitske, the piping plover and least tern project manager at Maine Audubon, several birds had already been spotted by mid March in extreme southern areas of the state.

Ryan Wynne, Scarborough’s beach monitoring coordinator, said this week he hasn’t seen any plovers on the town’s beaches yet, but he’s expecting them to arrive any day now. He asked that residents and visitors keep an eye out, while also obeying signs and roped-off areas designed to protect the birds.

Following the killing of a plover chick by a loose dog in the summer of 2013, Scarborough spent months debating controversial rules that were meant to both provide better protections for the plover while also allowing people to let their dogs run off-leash on the beach, even during the plover season, against the recommendation of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Under the rules approved by the Town Council in 2014, from April 1 to Labor Day, dogs are not allowed in certain restricted areas of certain beaches.

In addition, from May 15 to Labor Day, no dogs are allowed on any beach between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. From 5 p.m. to dusk, people can walk their leashed dogs on the beach. Then, between dawn and 9 a.m., dogs can be off their leash.

The rules also state that whenever any portion of a beach has been roped off, fenced off or otherwise posted as a protected area, no dogs are allowed within 200 feet. All dogs must be leashed while both entering or exiting vehicles and the beach.

This year marks the third season for the new rules. Wynne said people seem to be adjusting well, with Chris Creps, Scarborough’s animal control officer, giving out fewer tickets and warnings last summer.

In addition to Creps, a group of volunteer beach monitors also patrols the beaches informing people of the rules and making sure the ordinances are being followed.

“It took (a while) for people to adjust to the restricted areas on town beaches. But, having the volunteer beach monitors and more enforcement of this ordinance has caused more people to adhere to it,” Wynne said.

While many fought implementation of Scarborough’s piping plover protections as being too restrictive, conservationists like Wynne and Minich Zitske said the new rules and the publicity about the need to protect plovers, particularly their nests, has started to pay off in a big way.

“Last year Maine had more fledglings (chicks raised to the point where they can fly) than we have seen since monitoring began in 1981,” Minich Zitske said. “It has taken a lot of hard work from lots of people to get there. The changes made in Scarborough are definitely having a positive impact.”

Wynne agreed.

“I believe the general increase in awareness about the birds and having people understand some of the protection plovers need has helped tremendously. Western Beach had a large dune restoration-shore stabilization effort (in the winter of 2015), which resulted in two pairs of plovers nesting there (last summer) for the first time in years,” he said

He added, “I do think the changes are having a positive impact, especially on Higgins Beach. We have seen a strong plover nesting population there the last two years, as well as least terns, which had not nested there for several years.”

In addition to amending its dog beach access rules, Scarborough also instituted a number of other measures designed to protect the piping plover, including removing trash cans and stopping beach-raking activities, which leaves the birds’ preferred habitat more protected and also provides a good source of food. In the last several years, the town has also stepped up its outreach and enforcement efforts, which has also made a positive impact.

Overall, Wynne said in a prior interview, “I think the big take-home is that the animal control and piping plover ordinances are in place to protect an endangered species. As stewards of the beach, and the habitat associated with it, (Scarborough was) obligated to (take certain steps). The current ordinance allows for ample beach recreation time for dogs and their owners while (also) protecting the plovers.”

While 2015 was “a great year for Maine plovers, there still is more work to do,” Minich Zitske said this week.

She also praised Scarborough for its efforts of the past few years, giving particular kudos to the team of volunteer beach monitors who “are out on the beach looking for birds and talking to beach-goers.”

She added, “Education is the key to success when sharing the beach. Volunteers in Scarborough and other communities are the backbone of this project. Nowhere is this more apparent than at Higgins Beach, where other endangered species such as the least tern have also successfully started nesting again after a long absence.”

Like the staff at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, though, Minich Zitske would prefer that owners not let their dogs off their leash on the beach once the piping plover season has started.

“I would like to encourage people who walk their dogs on beaches that host plovers to start leashing now, regardless of the rules,” she said this week. “Personally, I stop taking my dog to the beach this time of year, but I don’t expect everyone to do this. What I do ask is that people who want to let their dogs be off-leash (do it somewhere) that does not have endangered species present.”

But Minich Zitske also said, “I look forward to seeing people out on the beaches. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by my interactions with beach-goers in Scarborough after much of the negativity portrayed out there.”

She’s even been “given hugs by strangers for our work. After a successful 2015, I expect to see even more plovers on Maine beaches in 2016. It should be exciting and challenging, but I’m optimistic that with our increased awareness and hard-working volunteers we will have another good summer.”

A closer look

Anyone interested in volunteering to help monitor Scarborough’s beaches this piping plover season should contact Ryan Wynne at 730-4149 or rwynne@ci.scarborough.me.us.

The new piping plover season starts on Friday, when dogs and people must not to disturb the birds or their nests. 

A juvenile piping plover tests its wings.

With a telephoto lens, local beach monitor volunteer Marc Lausier is able to catch a piping plover at rest.

A piping plover with her chicks.

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