OGUNQUIT (AP) — Maine officials say the effort to protect a rare bird species has met success with a record number of piping plover hatchlings.
Maine Audubon says beaches across the state saw 128 piping plover fledglings, a record number since monitoring began in 1981. The Portland Press Herald reports Ogunquit Beach ended up seeing the most fledglings, with 24 produced by 11 nesting pairs.
There were 15 fledglings each at Wells Beach and at Scarborough’s Western Beach.
Maine Audubon official Laura Minich Zitske says the success of the plovers this year is thanks in large part to partnerships with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and landowners and volunteers.
The 100-plus fledgling number means Maine is still meeting conservation targets for the shorebird species.
The Times Record Sustaining Sponsor
We believe a community must be informed to thrive. bowdoin.edu
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less