My View of Life on the Dock
ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE1. Approval of meeting minutes from 9/12/2018
2. Education/Outreach Plans
3. Piping plover awareness and education
4. Off leash beach days
5. Rodenticides
6. Dogs in Cemetery
7. Materials
8. Shirts/Sweatshirts/Hats
9. Brochures
10. Public comment
11. New Business
PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF MEETING PLACE. THE MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE FRIEND ROOM AT THE SAWYER FREE LIBRARY
Lest anyone has forgotten, a beautiful pair of Piping Plovers tried to establish a nest on Good Harbor Beach during the month of April. Time and time again, they were disrupted by dogs–dogs off leash on on-leash days, dogs running through the nesting area, and bird dogs chasing the birds up and down the shoreline. This was witnessed multiple times during the month of April by the Piping Plover volunteer monitors.
Piping Plovers face many man made problems and natural predators however, the two greatest threats at Good Harbor Beach are dogs and crows. Changing the ordinance on Good Harbor Beach to help the Piping Plovers will at the very least allow them to nest in their natural environment. Our parking lot nesting pair were extremely stressed having to defend both territories, the parking lot nest and their roped off territory. Please let Mayor Sefatia and city councilors know that you support the change in ordinance to restrict dogs on Good Harbor Beach during the month of April.
Thank you for your help!
The following series of photos shows why it is so critically important to not allow dogs on Good Harbor Beach during shorebird nesting season, which begins April 1st on most Massachusetts beaches.
Early April and our returning Good Harbor Beach Dad begins making nest scrapes.
He invites Mom to come inspect.
She tries the nest on for size and approves! Mom appears plump and ready to begin laying eggs.
Mid-April and after days of dogs running through the nesting area, the Piping Plovers are discovered standing on the white lines in the GHB parking lot.
Dad begins making nest scrapes on the painted white lines in the parking lot gravel.
With fewer cars in the lot during the month of April, the PiPl determine the lot is safer than the beach. They give up trying to nest on the beach and concentrate solely on the parking lot nest.
Dad invites Mom to inspect the parking lot nest scrape.
She begins laying eggs in the parking lot.
Mama Piping Plover leaving the nest for a few moments to change places with Papa Plover
Thursday, June 7th, the Animal Advisory Committee is meeting at City Hall, 3rd floor, at 6:30pm.
On the Agenda:
Animal Advisory Committee update from the Piping Plover meeting held May 17, 2018:
We will have a continuation of the plover discussion during our June 7th meeting; in the meantime, fact-finding and ongoing discussion with experts will be conducted as well as creation of a volunteer group or team for beaches. We will likely make final recommendation on dog & wildlife ordinances by July 2018.
Also, tonight, June 4th, is an Ordinance and Administration Committee meeting at City Hall, 1st floor, from 6pm to 8pm. I have never been to an O and A meeting, but plan to attend to learn more about how the process works.
Parking Lot Piping Plovers, driven off the beach in April by the unrelenting interruption from dogs during courtship and nesting building in the roped off areas at Good Harbor Beach.
Parking Lot Papa waiting to change places with Mama
Giving the eggs a little turn with her feet and then settling back down on the nest.
Piping Plovers would much prefer to nest on the beach. The Good Harbor Beach parking lot is the location of “last resort.”
Link to post about GHB PiPl nesting in the parking lot.
Here is the video from 1623 Studios of the Coyote Ecology & Behavior presentation from Dr. Jonathan Way. The presentation was held on February 27th, hosted by the Animal Advisory Committee.
This time of year coyotes will be active, so its important to protect your pets by keeping them indoors or on a leash, and never be left unsupervised.
Coyotes may be denning with small pups near your home or in the woods. They will be extra protective of their pups, so keep your dogs, even large dogs, leashed and close to you. Smaller dogs may be considered prey, while larger dogs could be considered a threat.
Coyotes are attracted to yards with bird feeders, compost, and accessible trash. Not only are some of these things easy meals for coyotes, but they also attract small rodents, which coyotes prefer to eat. You can follow this yard audit to coyote proof your yard, click Here.
We want to keep the coyotes wild, so it is important to be loud and try to scare them away. Bang pots, yell/scream, throw thing in their direction. Ask your neighbors to do the same and report anyone actively feeding them to the police.
I wanted to share some information on the City of Gloucester Animal Advisory Committee. We are a great group of volunteers who are helping to advise the city on all matters pertaining to domestic and wild animals in the city of Gloucester. We hope to share animal related information with the public and help to make positive improvements.
Since we are in the off-season and the pups now have their beaches back, we want everyone to have fun and stay safe. We have posted some information on our website pertaining to dogs on the beaches, you can also find this on the City of Gloucester’s website.
Dogs shall be allowed on public beaches from October 1 to April 30.
Unleashed dogs shall be allowed on the beaches as follows:
Currently we are collecting data on any coyote sightings in the city. We are collecting this information so that we can document areas where coyotes are frequently seen and identify any conflict hotspots, in order to assist with any education or mitigation efforts.
If you have any experiences please submit them via our website: https://gloucestercoyote.wordpress.com/coyote-sightings/
We have a yard audit on the site that you can follow to coyote (and other animal) proof your yard.
We have monthly committee meetings that are open to the public for any comments, our meeting schedules will be posted on the City of Gloucester’s calendar.
Please follow us on Facebook or visit our website:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GloucesterAAC
Website: https://gloucestercoyote.wordpress.com
Good Morning Gloucester 