News from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
August 11, 2005
Phone: (603) 271-3211
Email: info@wildlife.state.nh.us
For information and online licenses, visit 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us

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CONTACT: 
Brendon Clifford, NHFG, (603) 419-9728 
Jane Vachon, NHFG, (603) 271-3211 
Marie Malin, Maine Audubon, (207) 781-2330, ext. 241
August 11, 2005 


ENDANGERED SHOREBIRDS KILLED BY FERAL CATS;
TWO ORPHANED PIPING PLOVER CHICKS FROM N.H. RELEASED IN MAINE

CONCORD, N.H. -- Two endangered piping plover chicks orphaned in 
Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, were released this week at Scarborough Beach, 
Maine, by Maine Audubon, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and 
Wildlife and the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. The chicks were 
orphaned the day after they hatched in mid-July, when their male parent 
was killed by a feral cat and their female parent and a third chick 
died shortly afterwards from injuries inflicted by a cat. There is a feral 
cat feeding station near Hampton Beach. 

"Cats in the wild present a danger to wildlife. In a fragile ecosystem 
with endangered birds like plovers, cats can have a disastrous impact 
on the population," said John Kanter, coordinator of N.H. Fish and 
Game's Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program. 

The three orphaned chicks and their injured mother were brought by N.H. 
Fish and Game to the Center for Wildlife in York, Maine, the 
rehabilitation facility closest to the nesting site. The female and one chick 
died the first night; the two surviving chicks were taken to a 
rehabilitation specialist in Bridgton, Maine, where they were cared for until 
their release earlier this week. 

"Biologists usually avoid keeping piping plover chicks in captivity 
because their best chance for survival is when they're reared by other 
piping plovers," said Jody Jones, coordinator of Maine Audubon's Piping 
Plover Recovery Project, "but this was a unique situation and we all felt 
the chicks deserved a second chance after losing both their parents." 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists chose Scarborough Beach as 
the release site since it is less crowded than New Hampshire sites and 
has several fledglings that may serve as "role models" for the orphaned 
chicks. When released, the two orphaned chicks were immediately joined 
by a Scarborough Beach plover chick and began feeding, preening and 
flying.

"We released the chicks in Maine in order to give them the best chance 
for survival. They can join other plovers in the area that will flock 
up and migrate together," said Brendan Clifford, Piping Plover Monitor 
for Fish and Game's Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program. "Without 
other piping plovers around, the chicks would not have been able to learn 
important natural behaviors before their journey south."

This has been a difficult year for piping plovers on the New Hampshire 
coast. Three pairs of plovers nested - two at Seabrook Beach and one at 
Hampton Beach. At Seabrook, four chicks hatched, but disappeared before 
fledging (learning to fly); the second pair's eggs did not hatch. The 
orphans released this week in Maine hatched from the single nest at 
Hampton Beach.

Last year, four pairs of piping plovers nested at Seabrook Town Beach 
and Hampton Beach State Park, fledging four chicks. In 2003, seven pairs 
of plovers fledged seven chicks. Since protection efforts began in 
1996, more than 70 chicks have fledged from New Hampshire's seacoast.

Maine Audubon has worked for nearly 25 years to restore Maine's piping 
plover population, which has grown from 10 pairs when recovery efforts 
began in 1981 to 55 pairs in 2004. The organization brings together 
towns, landowners, volunteers and wildlife agencies to locate and monitor 
plover nests, erect fencing to protect nests and conduct outreach about 
the birds, which are threatened primarily by habitat loss, but also by 
dogs, cats and predators like gulls and crows.

After flying from their wintering grounds in the Gulf of Mexico, each 
spring the small, buff-colored piping plovers nest on sandy beaches from 
North Carolina to the Canadian Maritimes and lay four eggs. After 
hatching, usually in June, the cotton-ball-sized chicks feed on 
invertebrates in the intertidal zone until they are developed enough to fly south 
in September.

For more information on piping plovers, visit http://plover.fws.gov. 
Learn more about N.H. Fish and Game's Nongame and Endangered Wildlife 
Program at 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/nongame_and_endangered_wildlife.htm.


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Copyright 2005 New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, 
Concord, NH 03301.  Comments or questions concerning this list should 
be directed to lpoinier@wildlife.state.nh.us.