• Home
  • How We Work
  • Where We Work
  • News Room
  • About Us
  • My Nature Page

The Nature Conservancy in Africa - Conservation in Africa

The Nature Conservancy in Asia Pacific - Conservation in Asia-Pacific

The Nature Conservancy in the Caribbean - Conservation in the Caribbean

The Nature Conservancy in Central America - Conservation in Central America

The Nature Conservancy in North America - Conservation in North America

The Nature Conservancy in the United States - Conservation in the United States

The Nature Conservancy in South America - Conservation in South America

Quicksand Pond/Goosewing Beach Preserve

Aerial view of Goosewing Beach across Quicksand Pond
Aerial view of Goosewing Beach across Quicksand Pond
© The Nature Conservancy

Why You Should Visit
The Quicksand Pond/ Goosewing Beach Preserve is a magnificent system of pristine coastal pond, beach and dune environments. This is one of Rhode Island's most scenic spots and a favorite among visitors.

Location
Little Compton, in southeastern Rhode Island

Size
75 acres

How to Prepare for Your Visit
Preserve Visitation Guidelines
Bring your bathing suit and suntan lotion, or your binoculars and a bird guide.

What to Expect
During the summer months, the town of Little Compton manages recreational use of the beach through an agreement with The Nature Conservancy. Please leave your pets at home, and do not enter fenced areas marked off by enclosures. There is a fee at the town beach parking area during summer months only.

Directions

  • Take 195 east and exit at Route 24 south in Fall River, Massachusetts
  • From Route 24, exit at Route 77 in Tiverton
  • Turn left at the bottom of the exit ramp to go south
  • Continue past Tiverton Four Corners until you see a sign for The Commons
  • Turn left on Meeting House Lane toward the Commons and follow to its end
  • Turn right at Wilbur's store onto South Commons Road
  • When you come to a "T" intersection, turn left onto Brownell Road and then take your first right onto Wilbur Sisson Blvd
  • Stay on this road - it will take a sharp left and deposit you on Little Compton's South Shore Beach
  • To get to Goosewing Beach, you must cross South Shore Beach first.

Goosewing Beach
Goosewing Beach
© The Nature Conservancy
What to See: Birds
Goosewing Beach is a narrow wave-washed beach and a primary nesting site for piping plovers and least terns, two of the state's most threatened birds. Since 1984, several pairs of piping plovers have nested in the sandy areas bordering the breachway of Goosewing Beach. The muddy flats of the adjacent salt pond provide an important food source for the plovers as well as a safe brood-rearing area. Least terns have been found nesting on the upper reaches of the beach, often nesting alongside the piping plover.

 

Why the Conservancy Selected this Site

Piping plover
Piping plover
© The Nature Conservancy
Working with the Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust and the RI Department of Environmental Management, the Conservancy bought Goosewing Beach in 1989 is managed by the Conservancy for endangered shorebirds. It is one of only five known breeding sites in Rhode Island for the globally rare piping plover. In addition, this area provides excellent breeding habitat for the least tern, which is a state-threatened species. The piping plover and the least tern were hunted almost to the point of extinction in the early 1900s. Along the Atlantic Coast, their populations were further impacted by increased ocean front development, dune stabilization and beach improvement projects, increased recreational use, and predation by dogs, skunks, raccoons, mink and gulls.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
The Nature Conservancy hires a Plover Warden and a Goosewing Beach Preserve Manager during nesting season (mid-April to early-September) to monitor and protect the species and to help educate beach-goers about the sensitive wildlife that inhabit the area.