Westport’s Conservation Department today cautioned visitors to Cockenoe Island during Friday’s Independence Day fireworks to be alert to threatened and endangered birds nesting there.
Piping plover: Cockenoe resident. USFWS photo
“Many boaters often anchor at Cockenoe Island to gain a spectacular view of the event, but docking on the island, especially the spit to the far west, can pose a danger to the threatened and endangered birds nesting there,” said director Alicia Mozian.
“The eggs are very difficult to see and the parents are very protective.”
Mozian said the endangered birds include piping plovers and roseate terns.
She said her department requests that people pay particular attention to where they walk and to keep their dogs on leash or off the spit of the island altogether.
