Tag Archives: #sharetheshore

HAPPY NEWS- OUR GOOD HARBOR BEACH PIPING PLOVERS HAVE RETURNED, AND A SECOND CHANCE FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO GET IT RIGHT!

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This morning we found Papa and Mama in precisely the same nesting areas as last Friday. ACOfficers Teagan and Jamie pointed them out. It was too wet and drizzly for my camera, so we don’t have photographic evidence, but we could clearly see they were courting, Papa fan bowing his tail feathers and Mama inspecting the nest.

Papa and Mama courting (photos taken last week)

We don’t know where they disappeared to while the weekend disturbances to the nesting area were taking place, but I do know this is a gift and a second chance for our community to get it right.

It will take our entire community working together to help mitigate some of the threats the PiPls daily face.

Gloucester’s DPW has installed dune fencing, which is helping to restore the dunes. Protecting the dunes benefits both people (our beloved beach) and wildlife.

Improved trash collection and heavier fines for littering helps keep predators such as gulls, crows, foxes, and coyotes from scavenging the beach for garbage left behind by people, and makes for a much more pleasant beach going experience.

The Gloucester City Council passed an ordinance to prohibit dogs from Good Harbor beginning April 1st.

Now it is up to the citizens of Gloucester to respect its ordinances and laws by not littering, not trampling through the dunes, and by not bringing dogs to the beach during shorebird nesting season.

And for the City to enforce these laws.

I frankly blame myself for being caught off guard. It had been so quiet on the beach the previous week, I thought people were getting the information that the ordinance has changed to prohibiting dogs on the beach. But the warm weather brought out both locals and out of towners and they have not gotten the information that the rules have changed.

Today is Tuesday. In order to be prepared for the very real possibility of another warm weekend day in April (five days from now) we need an IMMEDIATE CALL TO ACTION

  1. SIGNS, SIGNS, SIGNS! We need to remove the ultra-confusing blue sings. Replace with simple, easy to read LARGE and PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED NO DOG signs.
  2. Very Important: The locked glass door signs with the May 1st date need to be updated before the weekend. Folks are using this as a reason to bring their dogs on the beach.
  3. Update the City’s website with the ordinance change. The City is aware of this and we pray this simple change can be accomplished before the weekend. Folks are also using the incorrect information posted there as a reason to bring their dogs on the beach.
  4. WE NEED HELP with enforcement from the GDP. There is only one dog officer on duty each weekend day and they are covering the entire city.
  5. Staff the parking lot booth at Good Harbor Beach. This will prevent dogs from coming in through the lot (and bring in $$).
  6. In addition to staffing the booth, position staff or volunteers at the footbridge and at the Whitham Street entrance, before people even have a chance to walk on the beach with their dogs.
  7. Be active, you can help by speaking to folks when you see them coming onto the beach with their dogs or when littering.

The following two photos are posted to show as an example as to why we need help from uniformed officers in enforcing the ordinance. This family was politely told that the ordinance had changed and that the ACOfficers were issuing tickets.  The father’s response was “we’ll keep the dog in our pocket.” Moments later, the mother and daughter were taking their dog on a stroll, off leash, at the creek.

Folks don’t understand that if we had chicks on the beach, this would pose an incredible threat. Even the smallest dog is no match for a tiny shorebird chick crouched down in the sand, unable to fly away, and at risk of being stepped on. Our Piping Plover parents often bring the teency weency chicks down to the creek to feed on hot crowded summer days.

Please be reminded that it was constant unrelenting dog disturbance that drove the PiPls into the parking lot last April. Knowing what we know, and in learning from last year’s debacle, it  would be a crime if we let that happen again for a second year in a row.

The Piping Plover is the littlest of shorebirds struggling against extremes- loss of habitat, rising sea level, natural predators, and human-created predators and disturbances. We have been given a gift, to be able to witness part of the life story of the Piping Plover here on our Good Harbor Beach.

To better understand what is happening on the beach and in response to recent comments–

Two of the three birds went missing during the day on Saturday. There are no coyotes or foxes roaming Good Harbor during the busiest part of the day while the beach is teeming with thousands of people and hundreds of dogs. 

Coyotes and foxes do not pose a threat to adult birds, only to the eggs and hatchlings because adult birds can fly away, and eggs and hatchlings cannot.

Piping Plovers feed alongside gulls, and many other species of shorebirds. Gulls and Crows eat baby chicks and eggs, not adults. One of the most astonishing scenes you will see when observing the dynamics between the gulls and the PiPls is to watch this tiny shorebird chase a gull away from its nest and chicks, biting and nipping the gulls tail fathers and even latching on. Both parents get involved and they will chase the gull far down the beach.

List of Articles and Links Provided That Explain How Dog Disruptions on Beaches Harm Piping Plovers

EXCITING AND IMPACTFUL NEWS FOR OUR GOOD HARBOR BEACH PIPING PLOVERS

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GLOUCESTER CITY COUNCIL VOTES UNANIMOUSLY FOR ORDINANCE CHANGES REGARDING PIPING PLOVERS AND ALL WILDLIFE!!!

Thank you Community for seeing the wisdom in these changes and for giving voice to these tiny endangered birds.

Last night’s Council vote a was win for our Good Harbor Beach Piping Plovers and a win for all the citizens of Gloucester. There was a tremendous turnout by the Piping Plover volunteers and friends, as well as an impressive number of letters written to the Councilors in favor of the changes to the ordinance. The combination of the two spoke volumes and definitely tipped the scales in favor of the Plovers.

Our sincerest thanks to City Councilors Scott Memhard, Paul Lundberg, and Melissa Cox for putting forth the ordinance. Our sincerest thanks to O and A Councilors Steven LeBlanc, Jamie O’Hara, and Sean Nolan for voting unanimously to put the ordinance change to City Council for a vote. A huge shout out to all the Councilors for voting YES!  Thank you to Jim Destino for presenting on behalf of Mayor Sefatia and the Administration. And a huge shout out to Alicia Pensarosa and the Animal Advisory Committee for their tremendous presentation and a job well done.

The greatest thanks goes to all our Good Harbor Beach Piping Plover monitors who have given so generously of their time and energy to our tiniest of shorebird friends. <3

Next steps are tighter enforcement, and signage, and with the ordinance in place and increased awareness, I am very hopeful this can be accomplished.

Just some of the many friends of Gloucester’s Piping Plovers who participated last night -Preston, Cruz, Laurie, Kim N., Heather, and Catherine

Piping Plover Fledglings Coffins Beach

Notes for City Council meeting

February 26, 2019

Thank you Councilors for providing me the opportunity to speak.

The Mass Wildlife Piping Plover 2017 Census Report, with Dog Ordinances, which was submitted last week, affirms why prohibiting dogs on affected beaches by April 1st is the correct course of action needed to protect our Piping Plover nesting areas. The April 1st date has been determined best course of action by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Trustees of Reservations Coastal Shorebird Protection Program, Mass Audubon, USFWS National Refuges such as Parker River (where dogs are prohibited year round), and our own Gloucester Animal Advisory Committee.

Only one chick out of eleven has fledged during the last three years. Rather than focusing on who is to blame, and who reported what, and how many times incidences were reported, I hope we can come together and do what is best for this tiny endangered bird. Beach communities that take full precautionary measures to protect the Piping Plovers have a greater than 80 percent success rate in fledging chicks. Communities that only take partial measures have a 20 percent rate of success in fledgling chicks.

Gloucester’s Animal Advisory Committee, under the leadership of Alicia Pensarosa, has recommended a full set of precautionary and protective measures, which are in alignment with neighboring communities, and they include creating a buffer zone, better signage, increasing fines, precautionary roping in place by April 1st, stricter enforcement and, the single most important piece of the protective measures, to prohibit dogs on the beach from the dates of April 1st to September 30th.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA), which also applies to threatened species, specifically prohibits the “taking” of Piping Plovers. Taking doesn’t only mean killing, taking also includes, harassing, harming, and removing. The ESA requires Federal agencies to take action to prevent further harm and harassment. By only taking half-hearted measures, and without strict enforcement, our community is at high risk of beach closures and heavy fines.

Piping Plovers are facing tremendous pressure from human disturbances, natural predators, loss of habitat, and rising sea level. One of the single most pervasive threats to Piping Plovers is dogs disturbing the nesting area, and we have seen this first hand over the past three years, beginning in May 2016 when the Piping Plovers first began nesting at Good Harbor Beach, continuing through 2017 and 2018.

The result of dogs disturbing the nesting area last spring forced a Piping Plover pair to nest in the Good Harbor Beach parking lot, a highly unusual and dangerous outcome, and this is well documented.

Here is why dogs are a threat not only to Piping Plovers, but to all nesting shorebirds.

To a Plover, dogs look and act like coyotes and foxes. Whether the dog is on a leash or not, to a shorebird’s brain, a dog is scary. Dogs unwittingly crush eggs in the nest, accidentally crush chicks, chase adults, and eat chicks.

But that is only part of the story. Because all leashed and unleashed dogs appear threatening, even if your pooch is the sweetest most non-threatening creature that ever lived, dogs cause the adult Plovers to go into protective behavior.

By protective behavior, I mean that the Piping Plover will try to distract the dog with a series of vocal calls (which also disturbs and brings its mate to the scene), by running in front of the dog, and by pretending it is weakened by dragging its wing on the ground (imitating a bird with a broken wing). These protective behaviors are very stressful and force the Plover away from the nest and chicks, often far down the beach, leaving the eggs and babies open to attacks by gulls, crows, and raptors.

During the night, a Piping Plover may encounter a disturbance by a single coyote or fox, or two, but when dogs are permitted on the beach during nesting season, the dog traffic and disturbance can be unrelenting, quite literally, with hundreds of dog disturbances per day.

Piping Plovers have a much greater tolerance for humans. For example, they do not try to chase people out of their territory and will often behave very nonchalantly, unless, of course, a chick is nearby. But just as they perceive dogs to be threatening, Piping Plovers also perceive kites, drones, and balls as threats for similar reasons, because these airborne activities appear to be flying predators.

Last year, Piping Plovers were first seen at Good Harbor Beach on April 3rd The small flock appeared very weary, but after a few days of resting, pairs began actively courting. Countless dog disturbances, especially during the very early hours of the day, and late in the afternoon, caused the Boardwalk #3 pair to abandon their nest on the beach and to nest in the parking lot. These disturbances and nesting dates are well documented. Constant dog disturbances also caused a second pair attempting to nest at the Boardwalk #1 area to abandon its nest scrapes, and Good Harbor Beach altogether.

Since 2016, I have also been documenting Piping Plovers at Coffins Beach and Cranes Beach. Last year, I began following Piping Plovers nesting at both Revere Beach and Winthrop Shores Reservation because these two beaches are more similar to Good Harbor Beach. Revere and Winthrop, like Good Harbor, are highly trafficked beaches frequented by locals and by people from out of town, and we can learn a great deal from these communities. Both Revere and Winthrop Shores Reservation follow the guidelines of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation where precautionary fencing is installed by April 1st, and no dogs are allowed. If chicks can fledge from Revere and Winthrop beaches, so too can chicks fledge from Good Harbor Beach.

Additional Notes:

A sentence in the 3PPlan gave me great pause, and that is why I decided to include the photos attached in tonight’s discussion. “There has been friction with a small number of dog walkers who resent being denied access to the beach or requests to leash their pets in the vicinity of the Plover area.”

The problem is much greater than a small number. The faces have been blocked because I don’t want law enforcement to go after specific individuals. The photos are meant to show the much larger issue, that there are many, many dogs disrupting the nesting area on Good Harbor Beach during the month of April.

All photos were taken on April 28th and 29th at Good Harbor Beach. April 28th was a warm off leash day. The nesting area at No. 3 was being impossibly overrun with dogs in the roped off section. Because of the uncontrolled dogs running through the nesting area, it would have taken at least three monitors to monitor only No. 3, not to mention area No. 1.

Photos No. 2-14 were taken within a one-hour time period. Photos 2-5 show a woman on her cell phone ignoring her dog, her dog runs into the nesting area and goes pooh, she goes into the nesting area to clean up while in the mean time, her dog continues to run through the nesting area with a pal. Photos 6 through 12 show a bunch of different dogs playing in the nesting area and could be photographed with roping as part of the photo. Photos 13 and 14 show dogs up by the nest, at the dune line. Photo 15 show the dog tracks in the nesting area.

The PiPl had given up on the beach and moved to the parking lot because there was far less dog disturbance there. Photos 16-18 show their parking lot nest scrape, mating behavior, and trying to camouflage on the white lines of the parking lot. They stayed in the parking lot the entire day and did not eat or drink.

I returned to Good Harbor beach the following morning, an on leash day, hoping that it would be quieter and the PiPl could catch a break, but instead found a number of dogs off leash.

I hope these photos are helpful in showing why it is so critically important to prohibit dogs on the beach during the month of April. And that it is clearly not a “small number of dog walkers” causing the disruption to nesting.

I am happy to answer any questions. Please email me or at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com or phone at 978-283-3910

Thank you so much again for your time and consideration.

Good Harbor Beach Papa (left) and Mama Piping Plover and Chicks

 

 

FURTHER EVIDENCE OF HOW DOGS ON THE BEACH HARM NESTING PIPING PLOVERS

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Tonight Gloucester City Councilors are meeting at 7pm to vote on an ordinance change that will impact whether Gloucester’s Piping Plovers will or will not have a chance to successfully nest at Good Harbor Beach. Statements have been made referencing “…a small number of dog walkers”  at Good Harbor Beach during the Piping Plover nesting season.

Very plainly said, if there were only a small number of dogs, the Piping Plovers would not have nested in the parking lot. The problem is much greater than a small number.

The faces have been blocked because I don’t want law enforcement to go after specific individuals.  The photos are meant to show the much larger issue, that there are many, many dogs disrupting the nesting area on Good Harbor Beach during the month of April.

All photos were taken on April 28th and 29th at Good Harbor Beach. April 28th was a warm day. The nesting area at No. 3 was being impossibly overrun with dogs in the roped off section. Because of the uncontrolled dogs running through the nesting area, it would have taken at least three monitors to monitor only area No. 3, not to mention area No. 1.

Photos No. 2-14 were taken within a one hour time period.

Photos 2-5 show a woman on her cell phone ignoring her dog, her dog runs into the nesting area and goes pooh, she goes into the nesting area to clean up and can’t find the pooh, while in the mean time, her dog continues to run through the nesting area with a pal.

The above group of photos shows a bunch of different dogs playing in the nesting area and could be photographed with roping as part of the photo.

These dogs dogs were up by the nest, at the dune line.

Photo 15 show the dog tracks in the nesting area.

In the mean time, the PiPl had given up on the beach and had moved to the parking lot because there was far less dog disturbance there. Photos 16-18 show their parking lot nest scrape, mating behavior, and trying to camouflage on the white lines of the parking lot.

I returned to Good Harbor beach the following morning, an on leash day, hoping that it would be quieter and the PiPl could catch a break, but instead found a number of dogs off leash. Photos 23 and 24.

I hope these photos are helpful in showing why it is so critically important to prohibit dogs on the beach during the month of April. And that it is clearly not a “small number of dog walkers” causing disruption to nesting.

Please come tonight and show you support for Gloucester’s Piping plovers. Thank you <3

Where: Gloucester City Hall, Kyrouz Auditorium

When: at 7pm

GIVE THE CHICKS A CHANCE!

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PLEASE COME TONIGHT AND SHOW SUPPORT FOR GLOUCESTER’S PIPING PLOVERS

Where: Gloucester City Hall, Kyrouz Auditorium

When: 7pm tonight

Poster by Meadow Anderson

If you cannot attend, please email your City Councilors  this afternoon and let them know you are in favor of the ordinance changes to help the Piping Plovers nest at Good Harbor Beach. Thank you <3

smemhard@gmail.com,

mcox@gloucester-ma.gov,

plundberg@gloucester-ma.gov,

sleblanc@gloucester-ma.gov,

snolan@gloucester-ma.gov,

johara@gloucester-ma.gov,

vgilman@gloucester-ma.gov,

khecht@gloucester-ma.gov,

JSenos@gloucester-ma.gov

 

TUESDAY 7PM KYROUZ AUDITORIUM: GLOUCESTER CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO VOTE TO HELP GLOUCESTER’S PLOVERS

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Gloucester’s City Council is voting on an issue that will have tremendous impact on our Piping Plovers.

When: Tuesday, February 26th, at 7:00pm

Where: Kyrouz Auditorium, Gloucester City Hall

For more information, please find below links to posts and articles:

GLOUCESTER’S PIPING PLOVERS NEED YOUR HELP TUESDAY NIGHT

HOW DO GLOUCESTER’S DOGS ON BEACHES ORDINANCES COMPARE TO OTHER NORTH SHORE COMMUNITIES

LIST OF ARTICLES AND LINKS THAT EXPLAIN HOW DOG DISRUPTIONS HARM PIPING PLOVERS

MORE BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON CHANGES TO THE ANIMAL ORDINANCE REGARDING SAFETY OF THE PIPING PLOVERS NESTING AT GOOD HARBOR BEACH

MASSACHUSETTS PIPING PLOVER CENSUS AND BEACH ORDINANCES REGARDING DOGS

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To give readers an idea of how Gloucester compares to other North of Boston beaches provided below is a list of Massachusetts beaches, the number of chicks fledged at each beach, and the dog ordiance.

As you can see, prohibiting dogs on beaches beginning April 1st would bring us in alliance with the majority of Massachusetts coastal communities. If anyone would like the list of all Massachusetts beaches where Piping Plovers are nesting, please feel free to email me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com and I will be happy to send you the pdf.

The beaches and information about chicks was found at the Mass Wildlife Massachusetts Piping Plover Census 2017.

NORTH OF BOSTON

Crane Beach, Ipswich: 33 chicks fledged, No Dogs April 1 to Sept 30, on leash off season.

Sandy Point Reservation, Ipswich: 21 chicks fledged, No Dogs allowed at any time.

Good Harbor Beach, Gloucester: 0 chicks fledged, No Dogs May 1 to September 30.

Parker River Wildlife Refuge: 54 chicks fledged, No Dogs allowed at anytime.

Newburyport Town Beach: 5 chicks fledged, Nog dogs May 15 to October 15, On leash all year.

Point of Pines, Revere: 1chick fledged, Private.

Revere Beach: 8 chicks fledged, No Dogs April 1 to September 30.

Winthrop Beach: 6 chicks fledged, No Dogs April 1 to September 30.

Yirrell Beach, Winthrop: 3 chicks fledged, No Dogs April 1 to September 30.

More Background Information on Changes to the Animal Ordinance Regarding the Safety of Piping Plovers Nesting at Good Harbor Beach

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January 25, 2019

Gloucester City Council President Paul Lundberg

Cc: Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken

Clerk Joanne Senos

Dear Councilor Lundberg:

The Gloucester Animal Advisory Committee members and the three volunteer Piping Plover monitors present at the AAC meeting January 24th (Deborah Cramer, Heather Hall, and myself) were stunned when city council liaison Jen Holmgren announced that all the councilors had decided, under the direction of yourself and Councilor LeBlanc, against addressing the dog ordinances in regard to the Piping Plovers. The reason given by Jen, amongst several (see second to last paragraph), was because “they (the councilors) have already been dealing with dog ordinances for five years.”

Deeply concerned, I contacted Councilor Memhard the following morning. As a City Councilor, he too was very surprised to learn what was said of him. Councilor Memhard was under the impression, as are we, that we are all working toward a change in the ordinance.

There has been some kind of breakdown in communication in moving forward in our efforts to help the Piping Plovers.

The all-volunteer AAC has done an outstanding job in researching, and in their recommendations, on how better to help these tiny threatened birds that each spring call Good Harbor Beach home.

Mayor Romeo Theken’s administrative office, Mike Hale and the DPW, Chief McCarthy and the Gloucester Police Department, along with Animal Control, plan to provide greater support in the coming months. The members of the Animal Advisory Committee, under the excellent leadership of Alicia Pensarosa, and the Good Harbor Beach Piping Plover volunteer monitors are a stellar group of individuals who have worked tirelessly to help our little Piping Plover family.

As a community, I hope we can continue to work together to give the Animal Advisory Committee members and the volunteer monitors all the support needed to ensure we successfully fledge chicks.

All that being said, the greatest threat to the Piping Plovers is the lack of common-sense dog restrictions at Good Harbor Beach during the month of April, coupled with only partial enforcement of the current ordinances during the bird’s nesting season.

During the entire month of April 2018, we observed the nesting pair of Piping Plovers regularly encounter interruptions from dogs off leash running through the nesting area, dogs chasing the birds, and dogs—just being their sweet curious selves—coming up to the PiPl while they were courting, mating, and feeding. Eventually, the pair were completely driven off the beach and forced to nest in the parking lot. The PiPl perceived the parking lot as the safest place because it was early in the season and the parking lot, for the most part, during the off season is a low-traffic area.

The PiPl had made a nest on the beach and would have begun hatching eggs a full ten days to two weeks earlier if they had not been driven off the beach and forced to establish a new territory in the parking lot.

The importance in allowing the birds to nest early cannot be overstated. If our Piping Plovers are allowed to nest early in the season, their chicks could well be on their way to fledging by time the summer tourist season is in full swing.

Piping Plovers have been shown to have tremendous fidelity to their chosen nesting site. There is one male documented who for fifteen springs nested at nearly the exact same location, arriving on exactly April 13th each year.

Additionally, a statement was made by Councilor Holmgren at the AAC meeting that she personally felt that dog owners who had not broken the rules should not be “punished” by changing the ordinance to disallow dogs from the beach beginning April 1st. This misses the point entirely. No one in any way shape or form is trying to “punish” fellow dog owners. It has been documented on Good Harbor Beach, as well as in numerous studies, that simple, normal dog behaviors negatively impact the nesting and feeding of innumerable species of shorebirds, not just the threatened and endangered Piping Plovers.

Out of a total of eleven Piping Plover chicks hatched at Good Harbor Beach since 2016, only one has survived. I think as a community we can do much, much better than this, but we need everyone working together, with the proper ordinances in place, to help the AAC and Piping Plover monitors do their work.

Thank you so very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Kim Smith

List of Articles and Links Provided That Explain How Dog Disruptions on Beaches Harm Piping Plovers

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Bird Friendly Beaches: Evaluating dog and human interactions with Great Lakes piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) and other shorebirds: 

https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/185071/Rutter_umn_0130M_17785.pdf?sequence=1

Death of Piping Plover Serves as Reminder to Keep Dogs on Leash:

https://www.maineaudubon.org/news/death-of-piping-plover-serves-as-reminder-to-keep-dogs-on-leash/

8 Ways to Help Piping Plovers:

http://ct.audubon.org/news/8-ways-help-piping-plovers

Scarborough faces $12,000 fine after dog kills plover

https://www.pressherald.com/2013/09/11/feds-fine-scarborough-for-plover-death/

Atlantic Coast Piping Plover Strategic Communications Plan Reducing Human Disturbance

Click to access Communications_Plan_for_Reducing_Human_Disturbance_to_Atlantic_Coast_Piping_Plovers.pdf

Sleeping Bear Dunes: Piping plover apparently killed by dog

https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/sleeping-bear-dunes-officials-piping-plover-apparently-killed-by-dog

Humans disturb piping plovers on nonbreeding grounds

 http://wildlife.org/humans-disturb-piping-plovers-on-nonbreeding-grounds/

GLOUCESTER’S PIPING PLOVERS NEED YOUR HELP TUESDAY NIGHT

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Dear Friends and Volunteers of Gloucester’s Piping Plovers,

I hope so much everyone is having a great winter and, despite the usually freezing temperatures, is able to get out and enjoy.

I am writing to let you know that this coming Tuesday, February 26th, at 7:00pm, Gloucester’s City Council is voting on an issue that will have tremendous impact on our Piping Plovers.

The single, most important issue facing the Piping Plovers is prohibiting dogs from beaches where they are nesting. This must begin on April 1st. I don’t have to tell our volunteers how incredibly important this change will bring because we were all witness to countless dog disturbances, particularly during the month of April. Innumerable dogs constantly disrupting the nesting area are why our PiPl pair was forced into the parking lot, a highly unusual and dangerous outcome.

Without the ordinance change in place for the month of April, there is nothing that the police, the Animal Control Officers, or the volunteers can do to enforce disruptions. From eleven eggs hatched on Good Harbor Beach in recent years, only one chick survived. I know that with support from the community in regard to the ordinance changes, the odds of chicks surviving will increase exponentially.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA), which also applies to threatened species, specifically prohibits the “taking” of Piping Plovers. Taking doesn’t only mean killing, taking also includes harassing, harming, and removing. The ESA requires Federal agencies to take action to prevent further harm and harassment, and our City is at tremendous risk for fines and beach closure, not to mention the terrible publicity it would bring.

To be clear, dogs are not the only issue affecting the Piping Plovers, but they are the reason they were driven into the parking lot. I am writing to you as a former dog owner, and as a member of a family who hopes again to one day welcome another dog into our lives.

Gloucester’s Animal Advisory Committee submitted the Piping Plover recommendations and ordinance changes after many months of solid research. City Councilors Scott Memhard, Melissa Cox, and Paul Lundberg put forth the ordinance change. Councilors Steven LeBlanc, Sean Nolan, and Jamie O’Hara then held a special Ordinance and Administration meeting, voting unanimously to bring the ordinance change to City Council, which brings us to this coming Tuesday.

Now it is up to us to show up in full force Tuesday night!!!

If you wish to speak in favor of the ordinance change, Alicia Pensarosa from the Animal Advisory Committee has forwarded some guidelines, which I think you will find helpful if you do not have experience giving public testimony. Here is the link:

Click to access guidelines_for_preparing_writing_and_giving_testimony.pdf

If you would like to show your support for the PiPl, but don’t want to give testimony, you can simply come forward, state your name and address, and say, YES, I am in favor of the ordinance changes.

As you know, a small group has been spreading a great deal of misinformation on this issue, which has made the PiPl discussion much more challenging and convoluted than necessary. Please, please come show your support for the Piping Plovers and the ordinance changes to prohibit dogs from beaches where the birds are nesting. Deborah Cramer, Heather Hall, and myself will be giving testimony, and we will only be successful if we have many more. Also, you don’t have to be a Gloucester resident to come.

If you have any questions, please email Heather, or email me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com. Please let either of us know if you a planning to attend.

Attached are my notes that were presented to the City Council back in January when we first became concerned that the ordinance changes had been deliberately stalled. Also attached is a copy of the ordinance the councilors will be voting on, a list of articles about how dogs threaten the PiPl, and probably the strongest argument regarding the safety of the PiPl is a list of Massachusetts beaches, the number of chicks fledged at each beach, and the dog ordinance at each beach. I compiled this list from the Mass Wildlife 2017 Census Report, and added the dog ordinances, beach by beach. As you can see, April 1st is the cut-off date chosen by the vast majority of coastal towns.

Please don’t feel like you have to read everything attached; it is only provided to help give background. Just come Tuesday night, and say YES, you are in favor of the ordinance change. Thank you, dear Friends of Gloucester’s Piping Plovers.

With very best wishes, Kim

When: Tuesday, February 26th at 7pm (6:45)

Where: City Hall, Kyrouz Auditorium

 

Treading Lightly

Happy Palentine’s Day

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Two Snowy Boys

ADVOCATING FOR THE PIPING PLOVERS

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Last night we spoke during open comments at the January City Council meeting. Many, many thanks to Councilor Steven LeBlanc for the advice on how to address the councilors, and to all the councilors present for taking the time to listen, including Scott Memhard, Sean Nolan, Paul Lundberg, Melissa Cox, Valerie Gilman, James O’Hara, and Jen Holmgren.

We are working toward the goal to see the recommendations in place by April 1st of 2019, before the Piping Plovers arrive at Good Harbor Beach. These recommendations were first given in writing on July 9, 2018 to Mayor Sefatia and the City Council.

The following are the concerns and recommendations presented to the councilors on behalf of the Piping Plover volunteer monitors.

January 22, 2019

Piping Plover Recommendations

On behalf of the Piping Plover volunteer monitors, we are submitting our short list of recommendations regarding the Piping Plovers nesting at Good Harbor Beach. Our goal is to have in place by April 1, 2019, measures and ordinances that will greatly increase the likelihood that the hatchlings of this tiny threatened shorebird will have a fighting chance at surviving life on Good Harbor Beach.

Piping Plovers began nesting at Good Harbor Beach in 2016. Each year, the PiPl are coming earlier and earlier. In 2016, they arrived mid-May, in 2017 they arrived at the beginning of May, and this past year, they arrived on April 3. It would appear that the same pair is returning to Good Harbor Beach, as the male marks his territory and attempts to build a nest scrape only several feet from the previous year’s nest (at Boardwalk #3 nesting area).

More Plovers than ever were seen at Good Harbor Beach this spring, and if not for constant disturbances by dogs in the Boardwalk #1 nesting area, we would have had two pairs nesting on the beach.

Why are the birds arriving earlier and earlier? We can presume that the pair are more experienced travelers and parents and that Good Harbor Beach is their “territory.” Does this mean we will eventually have dozens of pairs nesting on Good Harbor Beach? No, because the PiPl are very territorial and they will defend a fairly large area, preventing other PiPl from nesting in their site.

This past year the PiPl pair hatched four chicks. All four chicks were killed by either crows, gulls, or dogs. All three are human-created issues, and all three can be remedied. The following are the four recommendations and actions we wish to see take place.

Recommendations

1) Change the dog ordinance to not allow dogs on the beach after March 31.

Currently, dogs are allowed on the beach from October 1 to May 1. The Piping Plover volunteer monitor core group, Dave Rimmer from Greenbelt, Mass Wildlife’s John Regosin, and Gloucester’s Animal Advisory Committee all recommend that dogs should not be allowed on Good Harbor Beach beginning April 1st.

This new suggested time frame will allow birds to nest on the beach (as opposed to in the parking lot), with far less interruption, shorebirds will nest earlier in the season, which will help with the chicks survival rate, and the chicks will be stronger by the time Good Harbor fills with summer crowds.

This is a very logical and simple solution. Disallowing dogs on Massachusetts coastal beaches where shorebirds are nesting, beginning April 1, is the norm. Allowing them to return after September 30 is also very common. For Piping Plovers and other nesting shorebirds, protecting their habitat and sharing the shore is a matter of life and death.

2) Rope off the nesting area by April 1.

Poles, with threatened species signs, and a triple row of roping of nesting sites, to be in place no later than April 1. Essex County Greenbelt’s Dave Rimmer will assist with this measure.

3) Enforce the existing ordinances regarding dogs (and littering) at all times throughout the year.

 Only enforcing dog ordinances at Good Harbor Beach during nesting season is creating hostility toward the Piping Plovers.

Additionally, we do not recommend extremely high fines as we feel that may become an impediment to issuing and collecting the fines.

We know of at least one example where the magistrate dismissed the tickets issued to a woman who claimed to have a service dog. This woman was running rampant on the beach and throughout dunes with her service dog off leash throughout the entire time the PiPl were nesting, from April through May. Despite the fact that former dog officer Diane Corliss caught the woman on camera with her dog off leash on the beach, and in the dunes, all the tickets that were issued by the animal control officer were dismissed. This is neither fair to the officers who are working hard to keep the dogs off the beach or to the plover volunteers who are spending inordinate amounts of time trying to keep the PiPl safe.

4) Increase trash collection.

When no barrels are placed at the entrances to the beach, people dump bags of trash there anyway. When barrels are in place, people put trash in the barrels however, when the barrels become full, they again resort to leaving bags of trash behind, only next to the barrels. In either scenario, gulls and crows are attracted to the trash. Both gulls and crows rip open the bags and the trash is blown throughout the parking lot and marsh, soon finding its way onto the beach and into the ocean.

Hungry gulls and crows waiting for people to leave their trash behind eat tiny shorebirds.

Thank you for taking the time to consider our recommendations.

Can these recommendations be actionable for the spring of 2019?

Piping Plover chick spreading his wings.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs9cvCgH2YS/

Great Blue Heron Times Four

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Last week we posted a photo of a group of Great Blue Herons, Cormorants, Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Herons, and Great Egrets all foraging together on a rainy morning. The Great Blue Herons are so perfectly camouflaged when perched on the rocky shoreline and we asked how many GBH folks could see. Reader Julie W. saw the most and she even sent the photo back with the Great Blues circled. Thank you Julie for taking the time to do that!!

 

TWO TERRIFIC WILDLIFE PRESENTATIONS UPCOMING AT SALEM STATE UNIRVERSITY

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JENNIFER JACKMAN SHARES THE FOLLOWING:

On Monday, November 5, from 2:30-3:50pm in Veteran’s Hall B, Ellison Campus Center, Salem State University, Dr. Andrea Bogomoloni, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and Chair of the Northwest Atlantic Seal Research Consortium will speak on “Seals & Society: Biology, Ecology and Interactions in New England.” Her talk will review the history of seals in New England, examine their roles in the ecosystem and as ocean health sentinels, and discuss seal-fishery interactions.

Harbor Seal Gloucester

On Monday, November 19, from 2:30-3:50pm in Veteran’s Hall B, Ellison Campus Center, Salem State University, there will be a panel on “Wildlife in Peril.” Panelists include Andrea Zeren (Psychology) who will highlight the plight of elephants globally; Jack Clarke (Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, Mass Audubon) who will describe current threats to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act; and Mendy Garron (NOAA) who will discuss the plight of large whale species (particularly right whales). All three speakers also will discuss efforts to protect wildlife.

Snowy Egrets are just one of myriad species of birds that have been saved from the brink of extinction by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act.

These events are sponsored by the Salem State University Human Dimensions of Wildlife Unit at the Bates Center for Public Affairs and the Political Science Department and are open to the public. For more information contact, Jennifer Jackman at jjackman@salemstate.edu.

I Want What You Have!

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What do Great Blue Herons, North America’s largest species of herons, eat? Because they feed in a variety of both freshwater and saltwater habitats, their diet is richly varied. Great Blue Herons dine on small fish, crabs, shrimp, mice, rats, voles, frogs, salamanders, turtles, gophers, snakes, many species of small waterbirds including ducks and ducklings, and insects.

How many Great Blue Herons do you see in the photo above? I thought there was only one in the shot, until returning to my office and had a good look at the scene.

PIPING PLOVERS ON THE AGENDA AT TONIGHT’S AAC MEETING

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ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

OCTOBER MEETING TODAY AT 6:30

CITY HALL, 3RD FLOOR

1. Approval of meeting minutes from 9/12/2018
2. Education/Outreach Plans
3. Piping plover awareness and education
4. Off leash beach days
5. Rodenticides
6. Dogs in Cemetery
7. Materials
8. Shirts/Sweatshirts/Hats
9. Brochures
10. Public comment
11. New Business

A BANNER YEAR FOR MAINE’S PIPING PLOVERS

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Piping Plover Fledgling

With 128 fledglings this year, Maine is still meeting its conservation targets for gradually restoring the species of tiny beachcombers.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD

BY GILLIAN GRAHAM

September 4, 2018

A record number of the endangered shorebirds nested on beaches from Ogunquit to Georgetown and produced a record number of fledglings, according to Maine Audubon. Maine beaches hosted 68 nesting pairs that fledged 128 birds, continuing a decade of steady growth in their population.

“That’s the most we’ve had in Maine since we began monitoring in 1981,” said Laura Minich Zitske, who leads the Maine Coastal Birds project for Maine Audubon.

After winter and spring storms left beaches in southern Maine in rough shape, there was some concern about how it would impact the tiny beachcombers that arrive in Maine in late April to early May to nest in the sand near dunes.

“We lost a lot of prime nesting habitat. Beaches like Ogunquit did look pretty rough at points, but thankfully the birds were adaptable and able to find spots to raise their young,” Zitske said.

Ogunquit Beach ended up seeing the most fledglings, with 24 produced by 11 nesting pairs. There were 15 fledglings each at Wells Beach and at Scarborough‘s Western Beach.

Zitske said the success of the plovers this year is due in large part to partnerships between Maine Audubon, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the landowners, volunteers and municipalities that create safe nesting conditions and educate the public about the endangered birds.

In 2005, just 27 chicks fledged on Maine beaches after nests and birds were wiped out by a combination of stormy weather and increased predation. While the numbers fluctuate year to year, the trend in Maine has shown consistent growth since then. Last year, 64 nesting piping plovers yielded 101 chicks.

The 100-plus fledglings – the stage at which chicks can evade predators or other dangers on their own – means Maine is still meeting its conservation targets for gradually restoring a diminutive species of shorebird that nests on Maine’s relatively few sandy beaches at the height of the summer tourism season.

Roughly 2,000 piping plover pairs nest on beaches from North Carolina to Newfoundland. The tiny birds can be spotted skittering at the ocean’s edge or on mudflats searching for worms, bugs and other invertebrates. When they aren’t foraging, plovers can be found nesting in the transition area between dunes and the sandy beach. Plover chicks are so small they are often described as cotton balls walking on toothpick legs.

Maine Audubon works closely with the state wildlife department and towns from Ogunquit to Georgetown to monitor the beaches for breeding pairs beginning in the spring and then advising the public about the birds’ presence. Nests with eggs are often protected by mesh fencing that allows the birds to skitter in and out of the area while keeping out predators. Volunteers and some paid beach monitors advise beachgoers and dog owners on how to avoid disturbing the sensitive birds.

READ MORE HERE

Piping Plover adult in the foreground, fledgling in the background. Note the lack of headband and should epaulettes on the fledgling, compared with the adult PIPL.

REMINDER – ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING TONIGHT AT 6:30PM: PIPING PLOVERS ON THE AGENDA

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PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF MEETING PLACE. THE MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE FRIEND ROOM AT THE SAWYER FREE LIBRARY.


GLOUCESTER DPW ROCKIN THE NEW FENCING AT GOOD HARBOR BEACH!

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Check out the awesome new dune fencing recently installed at Good Harbor Beach by our DPW crew. The wire fencing runs along the length of the beach. The DPW did an outstanding job, very neat and unobtrusive.

Dune fencing plays an important role in reducing erosion. One of the main benefits of dune fencing is to help keep pets and people out of the dunes. Why is it detrimental to the dunes to allow uncontrolled dogs to run through the dunes and for people to use the dunes to access the parking lot, or worse, as their personal toilet? Repeated traffic through the dunes damages and kills the plants growing in the dunes. Plants help control erosion by stabilizing soil and sediments with their roots. Dune vegetation helps break the impact of of wave splash and rain, and also traps sand to help build up the dunes.

The fencing material installed by the DPW is an excellent choice for nesting shorebirds. This year especially, with much of the beach vegetation washed away and with the beach greatly narrowed, the Piping Plover adults and chicks had learned to use the area behind the old wire fencing for shade and to hide from predators. The open fencing still allows for small wild creatures to go in and out of the holes to find shelter and safety at the base of the dune.

Pip snuggled under Mama PiPl

Thank you Gloucester DPW for a super job well done!

Adult Piping Plovers and chicks found shelter along the wire fencing (the Bachelor left, and Mama and Pip, right).

SHOUT OUT AND THANKS TO GLOUCESTER’S DPW JOE LUCIDO, CONSERVATION AGENT KEN WHITTAKER, AND GREENBELT’S DAVE RIMMER

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Rainy day nesting.

Early this morning seaweed was collected from the beach and spread in a small area next to Piping Plover’s roped off area. The purpose of the seaweed is to help the PiPl find nourishment once the chicks hatch. There are lots of teeny weeny insects that live in the gravel and grassy areas of the parking lot, and the seaweed will attract even more.  

MORE SHOREBIRDS NESTING AT GOOD HARBOR BEACH!

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Pictured above are the beautiful mottled eggs of a different species of plover, the Killdeer. Notice how the Killdeer eggs look similar to the PiPl eggs, but are a deeper gray. Killdeers make their nest scrapes on the ground, just as do PiPl, but in gravel and soil, and the darker colored eggs are perfectly camouflaged amidst the sticks and stones. Conversely, Piping Plover eggs are beautifully camouflaged when laid in sandy nest scrapes.

Stay tuned for wonderful news about our Good Harbor Beach Killdeer Family.

Piping Plover Eggs

Killdeer, Good Harbor Beach Gloucester