NYC nonprofit protects endangered birds in Rockaways

Now these are some hot chicks on the beach!

Volunteers have been braving the heat this week to protect the endangered piping plovers that flock to Rockaway beaches.

The Good Samaritans are part of the NYC Plover Project, which was founded in March 2021 to help safeguard the tiny sand-colored shorebirds that nest on the beaches in the Rockaways every year.

Despite the volunteers watching out for them, the organization tweeted the sad news that a beachgoer stepped on a 12-day-old chick, and although its members got it to the Wild Bird Fund, the city’s only wildlife rehabilitation center, it ultimately died from its injuries.

“With an earlier beach closure & greater care by beachgoers, this wouldn’t have happened,” the group wrote.

The nonprofit, which is made up of 75 volunteers, many of whom are from the Queens peninsula, has been diligently watching over the little creatures.

This summer alone, its animal rescue activists have given close to 2,000 hours of their time in service to the rare and vulnerable birds, the group said.