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Birds & Science
Coastal Bird Conservation Program
 Coastal
environments support some of the world’s highest diversities
of birds as well as some of its largest migratory and breeding
congregations. Audubon New York’s Long Island Bird Conservation
Program focuses its efforts on beach nesting birds and their
conservation issues. Long Island supports almost half of the
New York species that are found on Audubon’s WatchList
and considered continentally at risk (16 of 36), in addition
to 20% of the species that are considered vulnerable in New
York State. Of the 20 Important Bird Areas that rank highest
in biological importance and are most at risk, 17 are located
on Long Island. Many of the priority species on Long Island
are beach-nesting birds that are found in few other places
in the state, including Piping Plover, Roseate, Common, and
Least Terns. This region supports nearly 400 breeding pairs
of Piping Plovers that make up approximately 30% of the Atlantic
Coast population and over 10% of the global population. Despite
these numbers, the Piping Plover remains vulnerable and has
been declared threatened by the Endangered Species Act.
Threats to beach-nesting birds include
human activities that directly impact nesting habitat quality
and nest success, such as beach development, incompatible
recreation (pedestrian access in nesting areas and use of
vehicles on beaches), and introduced predators. Current conservation
efforts include habitat management, predator control, sire
restoration, management actions, and volunteer monitoring.
The Long Island Bird Conservation Program implements conservation,
education, and advocacy efforts to meet its goals. These goals
include:
- Increase public awareness of priority beach-nesting birds,
including their identification, habitat requirements, and
diversity.
- Enhance monitoring and long-term projection for plovers,
terns, and other priority beach-nesting birds on Long Island.
- Address the issues associated with predators, increase
public awareness of predators that have the greatest impact
on vulnerable beach-nesting birds, and identify solutions
that reduce those threats.
To learn more about Audubon NY’s
Long Island Bird Conservation Program, contact Carolyn
Spilman
Volunteer
opportunities with the Long Island Bird Conservation program. |
