This article was written by 2024 Women in Conservation Shorebird Technician, Vandana Menser.

When I tell people I work at the beach, they often remark that I must have a great tan going on.

If your idea of a great tan is in the form of stark lines outlining my t-shirt, shorts, and ankle socks — then yes, I do. It’s complemented by sprinkles of bites from mosquitoes and greenhead flies, as well as the occasional sunburn.

But it’s all worth it to be protecting the endangered Piping Plover, which nests at two out of the three small private beaches I monitor as a seasonal shorebird technician on Long Island’s north shore. I’m one of the shorebird technicians brought on by Audubon New York to monitor shorebird nesting sites across Long Island. Each year, we work to conserve shorebirds like the Least Tern, American Oystercatcher and, of course, the Piping Plover.

This summer was one of the best so far, with four breeding pairs at each of my two sites. All eight pairs have been successful in raising their chicks—though not without struggle. 

The aptly named “Pair 1” was the first Piping Plover pair to arrive in my monitoring area, discovered while the female laid eggs in late April. The site they chose is highly trafficked. Dogs (both on- and off-leash) are prevalent, as are ATVs, bonfires, and boats docked on shore—all of which can cause issues for nesting shorebirds. Trash on the beach is also an issue, as it attracts predators such as crows, seagulls, foxes, and raccoons. 

None of these animals will resist snacking on petite plover eggs, and Pair 1’s first nest was gone by early May, surrounded by crow tracks. 

Thankfully, many Piping Plovers will attempt a second nest if their first fails early in the season.

Pair 1’s next nesting attempt was found in early May and dubbed “Nest 1B”—the number identifying the pair, and the letter the nest attempt. The nest was given a predator exclosure—a cage with mesh large enough for plovers to enter and exit yet small enough to keep out other animals—after it produced four eggs, the complete amount for a Piping Plover clutch. 

This nest, unlike 1A, did make it to hatching. Unfortunately, this was over Memorial Day Weekend, one of the most stressful times for nesting shorebirds due to higher than normal beach activity. One by one, each of the three hatched chicks would go missing over the next two weeks. 

Fortunately, a third nest “Nest 1C” was found at the end of June. This time, the pair had chosen to lay eggs in the middle of the growing Least Tern colony at the far end of the beach, very different from their first attempts. The nest had only three eggs, but this was no surprise: birds must budget their energy for reproductive behavior, foraging, and migration. 

All three eggs hatched in mid-July, and the chicks are doing better than ever. As of early August, they are soon to become fledglings, and we may have the site’s first-ever Least Tern colony to thank! 

Least Terns nest in large colonies, and will work in tandem to defend their nests. While Piping Plovers won’t nest near others of their species, they are known to nest inside tern colonies, reaping the rewards of their aggression towards outsiders.

This is the first year there has been a Least Tern colony at this site—and it may have just been exactly what Nest 1C needed to survive.

Getting to watch these interactions up close is one of the most exciting parts of working in the field. Even after the season is over, I’ll be glad to take these stories with me—along with the sunburn, mosquito bites, and the silly tan lines.