WELLS — Yes, it’s that time of year again when our first tourists return to the beaches in Wells. 

The first  piping plovers were sighted and the reports are encouraging. 

Wells Piping Plover Program monitors have been volunteering at our beaches and have reported up to nine plovers on Wells Beach.  Preliminary indications are some have already found their mates with at least four pairs getting to know each other a little better. 

The plovers were right on time this year, arriving about the first week of April.  They’re an interesting breed.  The males establish a territory as their own which they defend against other males in the area.  If you see plovers chasing each other along the beach that is most likely what you’re witnessing. 

Additionally, you may see them stamping their feet and puffing out their feathers to make them appear larger than they are. 

This year’s weather and beach erosion has made spotting the much needed concentration of plover tracks to identify a scrape (shallow depressions in the sand to prepare for nest building) or an actual nest.  Our monitors are working extra hard to locate the telltale signs of a breeding pair. 

Additionally, high tides make it more difficult for the plovers to find a safe spot to nest.  Nests are made above the high tide lines and typically near the thinly grassed areas of the fore dunes so, for anyone who’s been to our beaches lately, that doesn’t leave a lot of space.

Piping Plovers are relatively small birds.  At maturity they’re only about 7 inches long with a wingspan of about 15 inches.  They have beige backs that look like sun-bleached sand, a white breast and rump, and black upper tail with a white edge.  There’s a single black breast band (which often looks incomplete) and a black bar across their foreheads which make identifying relatively easy.

As of April 1st and running through June 15, all dogs on any of Wells Beaches must be leashed at all times for the safety of the plovers which are considered an endangered species. 

From June 16 through Sept. 15, dogs are not permitted within beach areas between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.  From 6 p.m. until 8 a.m., dogs are permitted within beach areas only when on a leash and under the charge of a responsible person. 

The only exceptions to this ordinance are dogs on the property of their owner or on another property with the owner’s permission, to Seeing Eye dogs or other dogs assisting an individual with a disability or to working police dogs. 

The Wells Piping Plover monitors held an annual training class on Saturday, April 28 in Wells to learn more about how to protect  these small and beautiful birds with information provided by Laura Minich-Zitske or the Maine Audubon and Officer Laliberte of the Wells Police Department. 

Anyone who would like to join the Wells Piping Plover Program is encouraged to call 361-8130 for more information.