FORECASTER • April 28, 2021
The Scarborough Town Council has voted to enact a partial ban on fireworks in the area of Higgins Beach, in part to protect the endangered piping plover, a shore bird that nests in the sands of the beach. The piping plover has been listed federally as threatened and endangered since 1986, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Andrew Mackie, president of the Scarborough Land Trust and former 16-year employee of the National Audubon Society, said consumer fireworks startle the birds, causing them to abandon their nests and young. It also prevents them from eating enough to put on enough weight to handle their migratory flights and, for the females, to lay eggs.