Plymouth residents face beach parking restrictions due to endangered birds

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — With a hot weekend ahead, beach parking will be at a premium – but one local beach will face even tighter restrictions.

At Plymouth's Long Beach, one parking area has been closed off because of the piping plovers.

The piping plover is an endangered sparrow-sized bird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches. And because a nest just hatched, the much-coveted parking area for town residents on Long Beach will be closed for at least the next month.

For residents, it's a frustrating little inconvenience.

"I think I paid $55 for the sticker so it's rough," said Plymouth resident Amy Medeiros. "It's very frustrating because it's really nice to go out there and park your car, open your hatch up and enjoy the beach and not lug everything out to sit here."

Beach goers at Good Harbor beach in Gloucester faced a similar situation last month, where a parking lot had to be closed off to protect the tiny birds that are rough to spot in the sand.

With only about 2,000-3,000 of the endangered birds left in the world, residents in Plymouth say they are used to the extra protection the plovers receive.

However, residents say the closure came at the worst time with a potential heat wave leading into the fourth of July holiday.

"We're not even going to try and attempt to use the beach this fourth of July weekend," said Plymouth resident Nicole Kierstead. "It's not going to be worth it trying to get a spot, a very limited number of vehicles can get out."

RELATED: Local beaches reopen just in time for potential heat wave

Cox Media Group