PIPING PLOVER NEST SITE SELECTION IN NEW-BRUNSWICK AND NOVA-SCOTIA

We examined piping plover (Charadrius melodus) nest site selection in eastern New Brunswick (1988-89) and northern and southern Nova Scotia (1983, 1987) because little quantitative information on nest site selection was available. Nest site characteristics varied among the 3 study areas with respect to the number of shoots of beach grass (Ammophila breviligulata), pebbles, stones, and shells in the vicinity of nests (P = 0.001-0.003). Compared with randomly chosen sites, piping plover nest sites in eastern New Brunswick had more (P = 0.001-0.003) pebbles, stones, rocks, and shells; whereas, in northern Nova Scotia, nest sites had more (P = 0.054-0.001) shoots of beach grass, pebbles, stones, rocks, and sticks. Nests in southern Nova Scotia had a greater (P = 0.001) number of beach grass shoots than random sites. Despite these differences, all study areas had gravel, grass, and mixed gravel and grass nest types. Grass nesting in southern Nova Scotia may have been a response to increased avian predation on plover eggs. Management to improve or create nesting habitat must anticipate geographical variation in the choice of nest site characteristics and should be designed and implemented based on data from the population of birds under consideration.