https://www.fws.gov/plover/q&a.html
7. Why are piping plover populations declining?/What are the threats to the piping plover?
Piping plovers often nest on beaches where people like to live and enjoy the shoreline. Their nests accidently get stepped on or crushed by people and vehicles. The presence of people also may cause the birds to desert the nest, exposing eggs or chicks to the hot sun and predators. Interruption of feeding may stress juvenile birds during critical periods in their life cycle. Pets, especially dogs, may harass or kill the birds. Many of the coastal beaches traditionally used by piping plovers for nesting, feeding, and roosting have been lost to commercial, residential, and recreational developments. Also, developments near beaches provide food that attracts increased numbers of predators such as racoons, skunks, and foxes. Water level manipulation along the major rivers may also lead to loss of breeding habitat. In order to recover the piping plover and remove it from the endangered species list, threats to reproductive success at breeding grounds must be addressed. Availability of quality foraging and roosting habitat in the regions where this species winters is necessary in order to insure that an adequate number of adults survive to migrate back to breeding sites and successfully nest.
