Wells Beach, Maine
Help us raise money for the Lafayette Family Cancer Center in Brewer, Maine. This beautifully hand made quilt was made by some of our guests in order help us with our fight against cancer. Tickets are available for purchase through phone or in the office for $10. The drawing will be on December 5, 2010 and tickets will be sold up until that day.
Wells Beach is a great location for families to enjoy the ocean and the sand. The beach also provides protection for the hotel as well as habitat for many animals. One of the birds that nest along Wells Beach is the Piping Plover, which is a federally protected bird.
The Piping Plover is a sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches. The adult has yellow-orange legs, a black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black ring around the neck. It runs in short starts and stops. When still, the Piping Plover blends extremely well with open, sandy beach habitats. The bird’s name is derived from its call notes, plaintive bell-like whistles that are often heard before the birds are seen.
The Plover lays its eggs directly on the beach in what is little more than a shallow, scraped out area in the sand. The plover’s sandy coloration provides excellent camouflage as it forages for insects and small crustaceans along the water’s edge and in small beach pools.
Piping plovers return to their breeding grounds in late March or early April. Following establishment of nesting territories and courtship rituals, the pair forms a depression in the sand somewhere on the high beach close to the dunes. The nest is sometimes lined with small stones or fragments of shell. The eggs hatch in about 25 days, and the downy young are soon able to follow their parents in foraging for the marine worms, crustaceans, and insects that they pluck from the sand. Both the eggs and young are so well camouflaged that they are apt to go undetected unless stepped on. When predators or intruders come close, the young squat motionless on the sand while the parents attempt to attract the attention of the intruders to themselves, often by feigning a broken wing. Surviving young fledge and are flying in about 30 days. However, storm tides, predators, or intruding humans sometimes disrupt nests before the eggs hatch. When this happens, the plovers often renest in the vicinity and young hatched from these late nesting efforts may not be flying until late August. Plovers often gather in groups on undisturbed beaches prior to their southward migration. By mid-September, both adult and young plovers will have departed for their wintering areas.
Loss or degradation of habitat resulting from the recreational use of beaches is a serious threat throughout the plover’s range. The piping plover became a protected species under the Endangered Species Act on January 10, 1986. Along the Atlantic Coast it is designated as threatened, which means that the population would continue to decline if not protected. The Endangered Species Act provides penalties for taking, harassing or harming the piping plover and affords some protection to its habitat.
When you come to visit Wells Beach, you may find nests of Piping Plovers. To help protect the piping plover, you should follow a few simple guidelines. Respect all areas fenced or posted for protection. Do not approach or linger near piping plovers or their nests. If pets are permitted on the beach, keep your pets leashed. Don’t leave or bury trash or food scraps on beaches. Garbage attracts predators that may prey upon piping plover eggs or chicks. Fly kites away from nesting area because Piping Plovers think that they are predators and they leave their nests. On Wells Beach, dogs are not allowed on the beach after 8AM until 6PM from June 16 until September 15. They are required to be on a leash year round and owners are required to clean up after the dogs. For More Information on Piping Plovers, please visit Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
The getaway package includes a 2 night stay in one of our oceanfront or ocean view rooms, a gift certificate to Féíle Restaurant and Pub for $40.00, coupons to
-Subject to availability
-Some dates do not apply
-Cannot be used in conjunction with other offers
-Reservations must be made in advance
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! A gift certificate to Lafayette’s Oceanfront Resort is a great way to say, “I love you” to someone special. A gift of memories at the beach in Maine. A gift of a romantic walk down the beach. A gift of time spent watching the sunrise over the water while listening to the waves lap the shore. Call us at Lafayette’s Oceanfront Resort to purchase your gift certificate now!
Wondering what to do with the kids this February Vacation? Lafayette’s Oceanfront Resort is the perfect place to get out of the house and enjoy some fresh ocean air. Let the kids play in the pool while you soak in the hot tub, go for a walk on the beach or sit on your balcony and watch the waves. Many restaurants are open at this time of year including Billy’s Chowder house, Varano’s, The Wells Beach Steakhouse, and Féíle Restaurant & Pub. Be sure to ask us for any discount coupons for local restaurants. If you are looking for something different for the kids, there is The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire in Dover, Smitty’s Cinema in Sanford, and of course, The Wells Five Star Cinema. We also have an assortment of games in the lobby that you can take back to your room to play. We have rooms available that are directly on the beach or in the main building, facing the beach so you do not need to go outside to get to the pool. Come to Wells Beach to make wintertime memories that will last a lifetime!
