Beach concerts at Jersey shore town cancelled for the birds

SANDY HOOK, N.J. (AP) - A concert series on a popular New Jersey beach is cancelled this summer to protect dozens of shorebirds nesting there.

Piping plovers usually only visit Sandy Hook but this year, unusually, they’ve decided to build more than 20 nests.

Sandy Hook Foundation made the announcement Thursday.

National Park Service officials say noise disturbs the plovers, which are federally protected shorebirds.

Sandy Hook is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, which encompasses parts of New York City and New Jersey.

Gateway Superintendent Jen Nersesian says they want “these special birds to thrive.”

She said alternate locations for the concerts were scouted, but a suitable spot wasn’t found.

Sandy Hook has supported nearly half of New Jersey’s plover pairs the last decade.