Plett plovers receive extra protection

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - To give white-fronted plover nesting success a boost, especially after a particularly devastating nesting period last season, the Nature's Valley Trust (NVT) has launched a new initiative that will give them a fighting chance.

NVT, that monitors these birds, said that they had faced many egg losses over the years in the greater Plettenberg Bay area, but the last season was "especially heart-wrenching" for researchers, who found only 6% - two out of 33 - of eggs successfully fledging on Nature's Valley beach.

In previous years they saw a 28% average success rate in the same area.

Exclusion cages

There are many reasons for low nesting success rates among these birds that nest on the shoreline. Threats include disturbance by humans and dogs, storm surge flooding that washes away nests, and predation.

Disturbance can cause birds to spend extended periods off their eggs, causing the eggs to overheat and die. There is also the chance of birds abandoning their eggs when experiencing high levels of stress.

Because of the low nesting success among these birds, the NVT team will be doing a trial of what they call "exclusion cages" in Nature's Valley.

"We have spent many hours studying past research on just the right size and dimension for cages that are easily accessible for plovers but not other beach birds and mammals. Cages that are roomy enough for our plover to be comfortable and to keep the pesky paws and beaks at bay," said NVT conservation scientist Brittany Arendse.

It appears that their efforts and research are paying off with one of the nesting plovers, named Betty, using the cage without a care. The team urged beachgoers to keep clear of the cages if they spot them on the beach.

They also invited those interested to stop by the NVT offices in Nature's Valley to learn more about these animals and would like to contribute to what they believe could be a success story.

Protective cages have been erected on Nature's Valley beaches to reduce nest disturbance of nesting white-fronted plovers.