Foxes and Piping Plovers

Piping plover eggs and hatchling - NPS photo

The piping plover remains one of New Jersey's most endangered species. Because they lay their eggs in the coastal dunes, but also must go back and forth to the water to forage for food, they and their eggs and young are quite vulnerable to predators.

According to the DEP's New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Service website."The threats that it faces, including increased beach recreation and predation, continue to act as serious impediments to the recovery of this species. Without intense protection and management, it is unlikely that the piping plover would survive in New Jersey."

Plover numbers have dropped to 115 nesting pairs in the state, down from the roughly 135 pairs a decade ago.

One of those predators is the fox which will eat the adult birds, their chicks and their eggs. Eliminating foxes in some of these beach areas has become one necessary protection.

"These are not easy choices," said Dave Jenkins, head of the state Division of Fish and Wildlife's endangered species project. "We don't relish the idea of having to control foxes."

Foxes are not threatened in our state. They are vulnerable to diseases like rabies and mange, and can be aggressive. One fox aggressively approached a young child at Island Beach State Park last summer and had to be put down.

Nesting areas are also subject to human disturbances on beaches and as spring becomes summer you can expect to see more signanage and even closed area on some beaches to protect piping plovers and other shorebird nesting areas.

MORE at state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/plover.pdf