Maine sees record numbers of endangered piping plovers

PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) - A record number of piping plovers are nesting in Maine and raising chicks.

Laura Zitske, a wildlife ecologist for Maine Audubon, says there were 140 nesting pairs in Maine this summer and that those pairs raised 252 chicks to the point where they could fly. She said both those numbers are records for Maine.

Monitoring of piping plover numbers in Maine started in 1981. This continues a growing population trend over the last couple of years.

The piping plover population reached records in 2020 when the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said there were 98 nesting pairs on Maine’s southern beaches and 197 fledgling plovers. Both numbers far surpassed the records set in 2019.

Piping provers are a small, sand-colored shorebird that is an endangered species in Maine and a federally threatened bird along the East Coast of the U.S.

Zitske said the record numbers this year are thanks to partnerships with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as work with local municipalities, private landowners and volunteers.