Unintentional Disturbances Threaten Waterbirds

There are a number of activities that can unintentionally scare, disturb or even threaten the survival of our waterbirds throughout the spring and summer seasons. Even a person with good intentions can fail to realize how sensitive a bird like the Piping Plover is, feeling threatened by dogs on the leash as they still see them as a predator invading their territory, making birds more prone to abandoning the area, wasting valuable energy or separating them from eggs or young, increasing mortality.

Most beaches in Connecticut ban all dogs during the warm seasons in consideration of public health and human safety, and this also benefits our birds. Activities like kiteboarding or kitesurfing may also seem innocuous when in the water, but surfers moving on and off of the beach can easily crush or kill extremely hard to see eggs or chicks, also flushing adults frequently right out of their preferred habitat. Please try to kindly educate all the beachgoers and friends you can this year as we continue to do all that we can to help our waterbirds survive and prosper.