Revere Beach has a new breed of summer resident. An inconspicuous sort, they are particularly fond of an area at the north end of the beach, where they huddle in the narrow strip of sand between a concrete sea wall and the sound. For five years now, young couples have made the trip here to enjoy the saltwater, to dine alfresco, and to well, to hook up.

In residence this summer are three pairs of piping plovers, a species of migratory shorebird that was in danger of disappearing just a few decades ago. Plovers are still among the rarest birds in North America there are only about 1,800 pairs on the Atlantic Coast but for the last 25 years theyve had an outsize influence on how New Englanders can and cant use our beaches.

Since the United States first listed them as a threatened species in 1986, plovers, which nest on the sand, have been entitled to a variety of habitat protections. Driving off-road vehicles on many beaches is often banned between the time the plovers lay their eggs (as early as April) to when their chicks can fly (sometime in July). Sections of sand get fenced off to protect nests, and entire beaches are often shut down altogether for months at a time. For some of the frustrated people whod like to enjoy those beaches, too, the inconvenience has come to represent environmental do-gooding run amok. The plovers defenders, though, think differently.

Theres a whole sector of society that would argue that the habitats that these species require have changed in such a significant way that its not possible to save them, says Katharine Parsons, director of Mass Audubons Coastal Waterbird Program. But as humans, she says, we have a moral responsibility to do everything we can to rescue them.

The Revere Beach plovers have been doing all they can to help themselves. Wildlife officials would like plovers to fledge an average of 1.5 chicks per nest over five years, though these days even getting one chick out of four to survive is considered cause for celebration.

In Revere, however, the plovers have been posting extraordinary numbers. The 2009 pair fledged all four of their chicks, and the three pairs in 2010 fledged 11 of 12, or 3.66 per nest. Although its too early to say for sure, it looks like theyre set to do just as well this summer. Many other beaches may have higher plover populations, but few can claim Reveres productivity rates.

This unlikely level of success has left biologists and beach managers scratching their heads. Were flabbergasted, says Cathy Garnett, director of the ecology program at the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The conventional wisdom regarding threatened species has always been pretty straightforward: Since human meddling is the thing that nearly drove the animals into extinction, the best way to save them is to keep people far away.

But crowded places like Revere Beach, with its 2.5 million annual visitors, have been forcing environmentalists to reconsider their assumptions. Even on raucous Sandwich beaches in 2008, when bonfires and fireworks werent uncommon, 41 plover pairs fledged 87 chicks (thats 2.12 per nest for folks keeping score at home).

With all this productivity, you might think the plover was on its way to coming off the threatened species list. But the Atlantic Coast population overall has curiously been stuck at a plateau for the past five years. This despite intensive efforts by wildlife agencies and communities all along the East Coast and millions of dollars spent every year on protection and management.

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Cape beach battle: The curious case of the piping plover