May 29, 2019: Congratulations Fishers Island! The community is pleased to announce the arrival of four Piping Plover chicks in Sanctuary of Sands on the south side of the airport runway. Please continue to leash all dogs walking in the area.

A piping plover pair returned to Fishers Island in early April. By early May, the female was nesting on her “scrape” in the Sanctuary of Sands area of South Beach. Camouflage-colored feathers help piping plovers disappear into the background. (Click on pictures to enlarge for an easier view of the chicks.)

There are fewer than 2000 pairs of “threatened” piping plovers on the Atlantic Coast.

Support our precious wildlife!

UPDATE, June 4, 2019: It now appears that there were two separate hatchings of piping plover chicks. One in the eastern tip of Sanctuary of Sands (described above) and a second hatching near the Race Point parking area with FIConservancy signage.

From the Field, Field Note, Justine Kibbe May 29, 2019