Malibu Beach in Dorchester.Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
It’s piping plover nesting season in Massachusetts.
Lots of beaches around the state have started to block off sections of the sand for the birds, including Malibu Beach in Dorchester.
Piping plovers return to the state for nesting in March and April, according to Mass Wildlife. Once the birds have paired up to breed, they become quite territorial to protect their feeding and nesting sites.
Massachusetts has the largest breeding population of piping plovers along the East Coast, according to MassWildlife. The birds often return to the same spot each year.
Piping plovers are recognized as a threatened species by the federal and state government. Conservation efforts on beaches have been in effect since 1986 through Mass Audubon's Coastal Waterbird Program.
Signs along Malibu Beach warn people about getting close to the sites, because if adult birds are disturbed, they can leave the nest and leave their chicks.
“If adults are kept off nests, prevented from sheltering chicks, or if chicks are disturbed from feeding areas, they may not survive,” the sign reads.
Dogs, cars and people are prohibited from entering the fenced off section.
There were 1,196 nesting pairs of piping plovers in Massachusetts in 2024, according to Mass Audubon. The spots that saw the greatest increases in nesting piping plovers from the year before were Long Beach in Barnstable, Scusset Beach in Sagamore and Tern Island in Chatham.
WBZ’s James Rojas (@JamesRojas.bsky.social) reports.