Support Research
Coastal Bird Conservation Program (CBCP)
Wilson’s Plover nest with a newly hatched chick! Photo credit Delaina LeBlanc.
Beginning in 2005, the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP) worked in collaboration with the National Audubon Society (NAS) and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to conduct the first ever ground-nesting shorebird survey of the Louisiana coast. Objectives of this survey included identifying and prioritizing threatened coastal bird species, monitoring and protecting important nesting and foraging sites, and establishing long-term protection programs for maintaining or increasing their populations. The initial phase included developing a baseline of information on beach-nesting birds including Wilson’s Plover, Snowy Plover, American Oystercatcher and Least Tern. Subsequent surveys have been conducted in 2010, 2011 and again in 2015. These surveys provide real numbers about the breeding abundance and distribution of these birds, enabling us to better manage “species of concern.”
Beach Restoration Impacts To Shorebirds Project
Piping Plovers. Photo Credit: Natalie Waters
In January 2013, BTNEP collaborated with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to monitor the threatened and endangered Piping Plover during construction of the Caminada Headland Beach and Dune Restoration Project (BA-45) in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. This project investigates how active restoration projects can change the location of shorebirds.