Fences go up to protect nesting endangered shorebirds

It is nesting season for Western Snowy Plovers and Least Terns.

Beach goers are likely to see fencing to protect the nests.

Dog owners are urged to keep their pets on leashes.

Birds of prey are also a threat.

Volunteers from the Audubon Society are trying to spread the word.

One volunteer used her binoculars to search for the tiny shorebirds on Hollywood Beach near the entrance to the Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard.

Audubon Society volunteer Debra Barringer said, “We are volunteers that monitor the endangered Snowy Plover and Least Terns. We put up the fencing and cages over the nests and do our best, but
it is a real struggle for these birds out here to be able to get the eggs laid, and protect them until hatching and then the little chicks scatter. They come out of the fencing.”

Barringer hopes Ventura County Junior Lifeguard programs will teach the children to watch out for the nesting birds and the chicks that have left their nests.