Thursday, 4:30 PM
Tiny piping plover chicks close big Barnstable beach
Two piping plover chicks huddled under a parent on Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable, Mass.(Vincent DeWitt for the Boston Globe)
By Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe Correspondent
The arrival of four tiny piping plover chicks may keep off-road vehicles and overnight campers off a 6.5-mile swath of beach and dunes in Cape Cod until July, when the birds are expected to learn to fly.
The plover chicks, an endangered species, are 2 inches tall and weigh about 2 ounces. The birds hatched Sunday night near the access road at Sandy Neck Park in Barnstable. Because they stand still when they hear the call of their parents, the chicks are particularly susceptible to vehicle traffic, said Nina Coleman, the beach's manager, today in a telephone interview.
Roughly 1,700 vehicles have permits that allow driving on the sand. Officials will wait to reopen the beach to vehicles and overnight camping until after the birds learn to fly, which generally takes 25 to 30 days, Coleman said.
The beach is still accessible by foot.
