Piping plovers possible return excites Glace Bay bird lovers

Bird enthusiasts are hoping for the return of a breeding pair of endangered piping plovers to Big Glace Bay beach this spring and they are cleaning up the area to get ready for them.

The little birds produced three fledglings last season in a protected area of the popular summer recreation area.

Sandy beaches are, in fact, plovers' preferred nesting habitat, but that makes them vulnerable to off-road vehicles, walkers, pets and predators.

Sue Abbott with Bird Studies Canada said breeding pairs often fail to hatch any young, so the Glace Bay plovers generated a lot of excitement.

"Even though it's just one beach with one pair, I mean, it's one of 46 pairs in Nova Scotia, so it is important," she said.

Even though there's still snow on the beach in Glace Bay, The Atlantic Coastal Action Program (ACAP) Cape Breton is planning a clean-up for Saturday to ready the plovers' nesting area.

"I heard that there had been plovers sighted in the southern part of the mainland already," said ACAP co-ordinator Caitlin O'Brien. "That was a few weeks ago, so I mean, they area coming whether the snow is here or not. So it's really important for us to get out, regardless."

Abbott said it will be important for people and their pets to stay away from plovers to increase their chances of reproducing.

Warning signs will be posted at Big Glace Bay beach and other areas where plovers are known to nest.