CHARLESTOWN, R.I. (AP) — A piping plover nest has been discovered at Rhode Island’s busiest beach for the first time since monitoring of the threatened birds began in the 1980s, prompting state and federal wildlife agencies to ask the public to help protect all shorebirds at beaches across the state this summer.

Because Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly gets about 300,000 visitors in a typical year, the public’s help will be needed to ensure that the pair of plovers at the spot has room to raise their chicks with minimal disturbance, according to a statement from the state Department of Environmental Management.

Disturbance by people, pets or vehicles can cause the birds to abandon nesting sites.

The agency is asking beachgoers to respect roped off areas and signs meant to protect the birds, keep a safe distance when spotting birds outside those areas, control dogs, and remove trash and food scraps from all beaches that may attract predators that feed on plover eggs or chicks.

Since being listed in 1986, piping plover numbers in Rhode Island have increased from 10 pairs to 80 pairs in 2019, the agency said.

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