Sixteen pairs of piping plovers called Milford Point home this summer to try and breed. They managed to fledge a record 33 chicks.
They were helped by two members of The Connecticut Audubon Society: Johann Heupel and Matt Joyce.
Piping plovers need protection because they build their nests on the beach, often where there is human activity.
"We put up fencing around them to try and protect them and we have cameras set up so that we can monitor predator activity. It's one of the most intensively managed beaches in Connecticut," said Joyce Leiz, Connectuicut Audubon’s executive director.
Of the roughly 17 Connecticut beaches where piping plovers breed, Leiz said Milford Point is the most successful.
In addition to disturbances by beachcombers, Leiz said piping plover nests can also be washed out by intense storms and extreme high tides.
This year’s 16 pairs at Milford Point needed to build 27 different nests to raise their nearly three dozen chicks, according to Leiz.
Once they had successfully raised their chicks by the end of this past summer, Milford Point's piping plovers headed south for the winter.
They’ll return to Connecticut in late March.
The Connecticut Audubon Society also recorded more than 1,000 osprey fledglings in 2024, a record number.
But Leiz said that’s due in part to having more people observing nests.
