Birders,
Normally, Piping Plover broods hatch 26 days after incubation
begins. One nest was due to hatch today, but is running a little
behind schedule. One additional nest should hatch next Wednesday.
It's a tough world out there. A brood that hatched three young two
weeks ago is apparently down to one survivor, due, I think, to
coyotes. There's no way any of our nests would hatch without
predator-resistant cages here, and even with them, one wily coyote
dug under the metal fence and depredated a fourth nest. And, merely
hatching does not put an end to continual threats.
I am not an island working here. I have bosses and agencies I report
to. I would never put up a closure without permission from every
agency, section and landowner involved. I wanted a closure at
Sweetwater, but, due to incredibly low visitation and the
complicated ownership situation, had to live with the recommendation
that a closure was probably unnecessary. This is not entirely
unprecedented or unwarranted. Just last year we chose not to close
one nest location at John Martin, due to the large amount of
closures already in place there, and the low probability of
disturbance to that nest. In that case, we had a successful nest
outcome, and we made the right choice. We never needed a strategy at
Sweetwater before this year, because Piping Plovers have never
nested there in the past, they're only there this year because of a
fluke rainstorm of 8 1/2 inches last July, and the reality that the
lake will be entirely dry for the forseeable future with a couple
more weeks of hot weather and evaporation.
I did not respond immediately to the first email I got regarding
Piping Plovers at Sweetwater, because I spent last weekend
backpacking and climbing with my son in the Weminuche Wilderness.
This was my first two-day break since early April, and long overdue.
I did not have a cell phone or service, and, being something of a
Luddite, do not get or send emails by phone. When I got home Sunday
evening, I wrote to Steve thanking him for the information, and, especially,
not posting to cobirds or ebird. I got a pleasant reply: "I figured
that making this knowledge public was not a good thing. . ." It was
not until Monday that I found that the number of birds and location
had been posted to ebird.
I have worked with endangered species for a long time. I know that
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) applies equally on public or
private land, posted or not. This act is powerful. One need not
intentionally harass an endangered species in order to be liable for
damage done. I know closure signs would have added protection to the
birds, but they simply could not be put up immediately. For the
benefit of the birding public, any appearance of Piping Plovers or
Least Terns in June or July in Southeast Colorado should give pause.
The correct response would probably be to depart the area as soon as
possible, and contact the correct person or agency.
I hope this is a learning situation for a lot of people. I have no
hard feelings. I know there are situations where posting an
endangered species to a birding network is perfectly legitimate, as
when clearly a migrant. In this case, it was not.
Respectfully,
Duane Nelson
Las Animas, Bent County CO