At The Trustees, our mission and values contribute to a stewardship approach that includes prioritizing protection of vulnerable species and managing healthy ecosystems. This ensures that our special coastal places are able to be enjoyed by future generations, both human and avian alike.   

Why Protect Shorebirds?

Shorebirds are a class of birds experiencing large-scale global population declines. According to the 2022 State of the Birds report from the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, North America has lost 33% of its shorebird population since 1970. There are multiple contributors to this widespread decrease, with recent threats including habitat loss from shoreline development, human disturbance, increased predator populations subsidized by human activity, and climate change.   

 Dramatic population declines have led to many species being listed under national and state endangered species acts in the United States. These acts regulate the protection of these species and their habitats and assist in their recovery. The Trustees protects some of the most significant shorebird habitat in Massachusetts, making proactive stewardship essential.

Shorebirds at our Special Places

Across the state, six Trustees properties support breeding shorebirds: Crane Beach on the Crane Estate in Ipswich, Wasque Reservation, Leland Beach, Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge, and Long Point Wildlife Refuge on Martha’s Vineyard, and Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge on Nantucket.  

During the shorebird breeding season each year (April-August), the Trustees coastal ecology staff implement a comprehensive shorebird protection program, which focuses on promoting the reproductive success of several species including the Piping Plover, Least Tern, Common Tern, and American Oystercatcher. The program’s goal is to balance recreation with the protection of wildlife and natural resources. Breeding habitat and nests are protected with fencing and signs, extensive monitoring is conducted, predators are managed, and regulations around access and seasonal pet restrictions are enforced.   

Beyond the primary focus of the program, protecting shorebirds and their habitats also benefits the entire beach ecosystem. Barrier beaches, where many of these species are found, are a matrix of habitat types and provide critical ecosystem services to coastal communities

The 2025 Shorebird Season

Overall, the trends for Piping Plovers at The Trustees followed statewide trends in the 2025 season. The population of plovers is continuing to increase but productivity is dropping. Massachusetts had 1,221 plover pairs this season, as compared to 1,196 in 2024, but productivity did not reach the goal of 1.24 chicks per pair. Final productivity figures for this year won’t be known for some time, but they are likely to be below 1 chick per breeding pair.     

Some highlights: Martha’s Vineyard exceeded 100 pairs of plovers for the first time. Over on Nantucket, the Nantucket Barrier Beach and Wildlife Refuge National Natural Landmark (the newly designated National Natural Landmark that includes Trustees, Nantucket Conservation Foundation, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) lands on the island’s northeast side) supported 24 pairs of plovers together representing approximately a third of all pairs on Nantucket. For comparison, the Great Lakes plover population, covering a vastly larger area, had a total of 88 pairs. Productivity numbers were at average levels on Trustees properties on both islands. 

Further north on the coast, Crane Beach, plovers fared worse than in previous years. The Crane Beach plover population saw below average productivity numbers per nesting pair. 

A Year of Hardship

The May 22, 2025, nor’easter impacted the entire coast and many of the sites where piping plovers nest were hit hard. Thankfully, the diversity of the Massachusetts coast—including  beaches that face in all directions resulting in significant habitat being protected from the effects of nor’easters—helped buffer the loss from the storm. 

On Martha’s Vineyard, The Trustees lost 57% of active plover nests and 83% of oystercatcher nests during the nor’easter. On Nantucket, all active plover nests were lost, while 30% of oystercatcher nests were lost. Despite this setback during the peak nesting period, most of the birds on Trustees beaches were able to renest.  

At Crane Beach, of the 32 active plover nests only two survived the storm—the remaining 30 were either washed over by water or buried by wet, wind-driven sand. This put a hard reset to the season, and while many plovers renested following the storm, higher than average nest predation prevented many pairs from ultimately hatching chicks .    

Nest predation continues to be the main issue for shorebirds on Martha’s Vineyard, with skunks, gulls, and crows being the primary predators. Chick loss is the biggest problem on Nantucket. Feral cats and both harriers and gulls are the primary predators found at Coskata-Coatue. At Crane, where crows and coyotes were the primary predators, of the total 95 plover nests laid 68 were lost, of which 33 could be attributed to predation. This year was above the 5-year average nest predation rate of 22 nests, and well above the 40-year average of 11 nests.  

By The Numbers

As of 2025 The Trustees hosted 6% of the state’s Piping Plover population, 8% of the Least Tern population and 9% of the American Oystercatcher population.   

Osprey Family Gets a Helping Hand

Another bird species that loves the coast received a literal helping hand from a Trustees staff member this summer. Chappaquiddick Stewardship Manager Joseph McLaughlin saw an Osprey family in distress after their nest was dislodged. He erected a stand for their nest and returned it to its perch, allowing the pair of Ospreys and their two chicks to return to a stable home.