AYLUS Dix Hills Branch works with Audubon to tag areas for birds’ nests on April 2, 2023. This Sunday, AYLUS Dix Hills members visited Stehli Beach to help put up posters and flagged areas that signal people to be aware of the area consisting of birds nests. Many volunteers contributed, putting pieces of tags onto string rope that bordered the site on the beach that was known for being the area where birds lay their eggs, or putting up signs that notify people to avoid littering or stepping on the area.
Nowadays, due to the influx of people coming to beaches and littering, there is more plastic trash on the beach. The trash accumulated unfortunately attracts predators such as seagulls and crows towards federally protected bird species such as the Piping Plovers and their eggs. Despite being federally protected, the birds and their nests are often put at risk, more prominently by humans. The eggs of Piping Plovers are rather light, usually camouflaging with the sand on the beach, which consequently results in people subconsciously stepping on the nests and eggs without warning. Ultimately, the eggs, which contain little chicks to be, are attacked, resulting in potential endangerment of the species.
Therefore, there are fencing beaches to combat this issue and prevent the potential risk of bird endangerment in our environment. Due to the weather getting warmer, it is more efficient for fencing beaches to be established around this time of year. String fences are tied around posts surrounding the area of the bird nests to avoid unwanted interaction from predators, and to prevent people from stepping on nests. Additionally, to make the area more clear to humans, posters are hung up on the posts to emphasize that the area is prohibited and only for birds and pieces of vibrant tags are tied onto the string that borders the area. These strong efforts help to avoid the catastrophe of bird endangerment on Long Island.
Despite it being a very windy and cold morning, AYLUS Dix Hills is glad to contribute their time and effort to protecting the species and their environment on Long Island, and aspires to dedicate themselves further towards the wellbeing of their community.
Volunteers: Sara Kong (2 hours), Ru Xue Jiang (1 hour and 30 minutes), and Ming Chen (1 hour and 30 minutes).
