How to Share the Shore

Best Practices for Protecting Beach-Nesting Birds

 Beach-nesting birds lay eggs and raise chicks on beaches around Martha’s Vineyard. The beach is their home, which means they are perfectly adapted for life in this harsh environment. While we humans need to bring sunscreen, water, and a cooler of food to survive on the beach these birds and their chicks have everything they need. We hope you want to help them survive and thrive by learning how to share the shore with them!

Follow these steps to help us keep chicks and eggs safe while sharing the shore:

• While on the beach, please leash your dog and only bring them to beaches where they are permitted. Please keep your dog away from posted nesting areas. All dogs frighten these ground-nesting birds, causing them to leave their chicks and eggs. Running dogs and people are especially frightening for them. 
• When approaching symbolic fencing please give the area a lot of space. We can’t always keep fencing where we want it due to our strong tides and wave action, which means some birds nest close to the edge of the fencing.
• Please do not stand or sit close to posted nesting areas. Close approaches to the nesting areas can make some nervous parents leave their eggs or chicks, which exposes them to predation and the weather. Enjoy the birds from a distance. 
• After hatching, it takes 21 to 30 days for these chicks to be able to fly. Due to their small size, it is critical to ensure they have safe places to feed and rest away from people, pets, and predators.
• Please do not fly drones within 150 yards (above or around) beach-nesting birds. They view drones as predatory birds and will defend their chicks against it, which could injure them and damag your drone.
• Please, no fireworks within 1/4 mile of beach nesting birds.

Please remember to respect wildlife signage. These birds are federally protected.

BiodiversityWorks works with private landowners, beach associations, and land trusts to monitor and protect nesting Piping plovers (Charadrius melodus), American oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus), Least terns (Sterna antillarum), Common terns (Sterna hirundo), Roseate terns (Sterna dougallii), and Black skimmers (Rhyncops niger). We collaborate with other conservation organizations on Martha’s Vineyard to ensure that all beaches and small islands with suitable nesting habitat are monitored and protected along the island’s 124 miles of shoreline.

Each spring and summer we walk many miles of beach protect nesting areas with symbolic fencing (posts and rope) so that people and birds can share the shore safely. We locate nesting pairs, census their numbers, and collect data on nest and chick survival. Besides the joy of seeing chicks hatch and fledge, sharing our passion for beach-nesting birds is a favorite part of our work. Visit our Beach Bird Conservation page to learn more about this work.

Watch Our Share the Shore Video