The Scarborough Town Council has voted to expand an ordinance protecting piping plover nests on local beaches to include another endangered bird species.

The council voted on Nov. 8 to add the least tern to its ordinance, now protecting nests the birds make in areas such as Higgins Beach. The birds are listed as endangered both nationwide and in Maine.

“Least tern numbers have not increased substantially despite two decades of intensive management,” the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife wrote in a description of the least tern’s conservation status.

For years, Scarborough has sought to protect the piping plover, which nests on local beaches in the spring and summertime. The existing ordinance forbids recreational activity within 330 feet of an identified nest.  

The ordinance defines that activity as games involving objects being thrown, kite flying, driving of motorized vehicles and other common beach activities. The ordinance also forbids discharging of fireworks near the nests.

The plover is considered threatened and endangered worldwide, hence the ordinance protecting their nests. 

Officials will identify both plover and tern nests on beaches in town prior to April 1, 2025. The nests will then be marked and fenced off, per the ordinance.