Feds on the hunt for suspects who stole eggs from nests of threatened piping plovers on Long Island
NEW YORK -- A federal manhunt is underway for the vandals who took eggs from some very rare birds at Far Rockaway Beach. A $5,000 reward is being offered.
CBS New York has more on the threatened species and why protecting them is so crucial.
Piping plovers are small sand-colored shorebirds that nest and feed on the beach.
"There's about 8,000 worldwide. We work on the recovery of the Atlantic coast population, where there is only about 2,000," said Steve Sinkevich of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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For years, from the Rockaways in Queens to Montauk on Long Island, sections of the beach have been blocked off, allowing them to nest and raise their young to help preserve the population.
"They are part of a whole ecosystem along the beach, shoreline," Sinkevich said.
But the Fish and Wildlife Service says last month at Far Rockaway Beach, someone damaged protective wire fences around two nests and swiped eggs from each nest.
"We have these large cages that we put over plover nests. They are designed to keep predators out," Sinkevich said. "But they are very obvious to vandals and the predators where the nests are."
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Images given to CBS New York show the damage and footprints in the sand.
"That's horrible. I don't know how people can do that," one beachgoer said.
According to the New York City Parks Department, as of July 6 there were 17 piping plover pairs with four nests, 11 eggs, five chicks, and four fledglings on Rockaway Beach.
During summer mating season, biologists on Long Island and New York City are asking New Yorkers to help protect the threatened species by following posted rules on the precious shorebirds. They asked that you give them space, keep dogs on a leash and avoid feeding birds and leaving trash on the beach.
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In the meantime, the investigation into who stole the eggs continues.
"Could be kids, teenagers, adults ... not being happy with fencing to the collecting them," Sinkevich said.
"Hopefully, they catch the person," beachgoer Rafael Jermoso said.
Again, the piping plover is protected as a threatened species. Authorities say anyone caught taking a bird or one of its eggs could face serious penalties, including a $25,000 fine and jailtime.