Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
• There have been few studies of the Wilson’s Plover population in North Carolina; thus, the population trend is poorly understood, although survey data have been collected during surveys focusing on other species such as American Oystercatcher and Piping Plover (Ray 2011; DeRose-Wilson et al. 2013) , and a triennial count of American Oystercatcher and Wilson’s Plover pairs that was established in 2004. • Other beach-nesting species exhibiting declines, including Common and Gull-billed terns, have not been studied to identify threats to their nest-site selection and nesting success. Erwin (2005) and others provide suggestions for buffer or setback distances that reduce impacts of human activities to nesting colonies of terns and skimmers. A study of buffer distances at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina noted pedestrians walking directly toward Least Tern nests cause the highest flush probability when within a 50 m distance (Smith et al. 2025) . • North Carolina provides foraging grounds for the Red Knot during fall and spring migrations, as well as during winter. There has been no systematic survey protocol developed to monitor Red Knot distribution and abundance in North Carolina. Further, although it is known that Red Knots specialize in foraging on small clams such as Donax spp. found in the intertidal zone, impacts of continued beach nourishment (fill) projects and beach driving along the North Carolina coast on the forage base for Red Knots have not been studied (Cohen et al. 2010; Sturbois et al. 2015) . Research has shown that Red Knot populations are greatly affected by availability of Horseshoe Crab ( Limulus polyphenus ) eggs at stopover sites during spring northward migration (McGowan et al. 2011, Karpanty et al. 2006) . • The decline of nesting populations of Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, Little Blue Heron, and Glossy Ibis in North Carolina has not been examined to elucidate threats and causes. Recent surveys of colonial waterbirds in Virginia also detected declines in these nesting populations (Watts and Paxton 2014) . Better management of regional data for migratory colonial waterbirds will allow better assessment of populations at the flyway scale. Currently, however, it is unknown what factors are bringing about declines in these small, colonially nesting wading birds. • Each shorebird and colonially nesting waterbird SGCN in North Carolina is dependent on coastal estuaries and beaches. Modeling studies of potential sea level rise (SLR) and climate change indicate change and loss of these habitats (Morris et al. 2002; FitzGerald et al. 2008) . The challenges these species will face, especially given areas of hardened structures on the coast (e.g., commercial and residential buildings, roads, groins, jetties), are not fully understood. Data for modeling studies are available, and additional data can be obtained to populate informative, predictive models.
• Secretive marsh birds (e.g., Black Rail) will also benefit from informative models and increased monitoring efforts. The Black Rail Species Status Assessment (USFWS 2019) and the
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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