Town Takes Steps To Protect Nesting Waterbirds In Moriches Bay

MORICHES, NY — Town staffers recently took steps to protect nesting birds living on West Inlet Island in Moriches Bay.

Staff from the Town of Brookhaven's division of environmental protection posted signs alerting the public to the nests' fragile nature and noting that it is illegal to disturb the nesting birds.

The island, town officials said, serves as a natural breeding place for a variety of colonial nesting waterbird species, including great black-backed gulls and herring gulls, which are among the most common colonial waterbirds on town-owned islands.

Others include the American oystercatcher, a shorebird with a long, flat, orange bill that eats shellfish, common terns, snowy egret, great egret, glossy ibis, little blue heron and black-crowned night heron.

Town code generally restricts entry on to the islands during the colonial waterbird breeding season between mid-May and mid-August, town officials said.

“Our Town of Brookhaven environmental staff takes great pride in their stewardship of our natural resources and they are dedicated to preserve and protect these sensitive wildlife habitats," Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine said. "If you come across a nesting place, please keep your distance and do not disturb the site or any animals raising their young.”

The Town of Brookhaven owns a number of islands in north shore harbors and south shore bays that are important wildlife habitats, a release said. While boats cruising along the shoreline do not generally disrupt the bird colonies, introducing dogs to the site can cause significant damage, so it is especially important that no dogs be brought to the islands, officials said.

The damage is not always obvious; one problem is that when birds that are disturbed leave their eggs or nestlings, they are very vulnerable to predators including the gulls that nest on the island, town officials added.