Smith Point Outer Beach closed to vehicles due to unfledged piping plover chicks

Smith Point Outer Beach is closed to all vehicles until further notice due to the presence of unfledged piping plover chicks, the Suffolk County Parks Department announced Wednesday.

The closure is required by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, officials said.

Piping plovers are considered a threatened species under federal guidelines. They are considered endangered in New York State, meaning they face a "very high risk" of extinction in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Federation.

Piping plovers are wading birds, short-billed, and hunt by sight. Unfledged chicks are those that don't yet have feathers and cannot yet fly or leave their nests.

County officials said the situation is being monitored daily for updates and that for now those with Outer Beach 4x4 access permits can park in the main lot at Smith Point "at no charge."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”