Piping Plovers Return To Cape Cod National Seashore

CAPE COD, MA — A welcome sight for bird lovers on Cape Cod: Piping plovers have returned to the National Seashore.

Officials with the national park report that the birds were first observed on the shores on March 14. That's typical for the bird, as the first sighting is expected in March annually.

However, there's more on the horizon as the shorebird activity peaks in June through the end of July, with some birds hanging around the area well into October.

The animals used to be even more of a fixture on the Atlantic Coast in years past, but the population has dwindled.

The NPS explains:

"Piping plovers were common along the Atlantic Coast during much of the 19th century, but nearly disappeared due to excessive hunting for the millinery trade. Following passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918, numbers recovered to a 20th Century peak which occurred during the 1940s. The current population decline is attributed to increased development and recreational use of beaches since the end of World War II. The most recent surveys place the Atlantic population at less than 1800 pairs."