There is a diversity of wildlife that corresponds to the diversity of habitats on the beach, inasmuch as the barrier beach contains a "protected" side facing Duxbury Bay and an "unprotected" side facing the Atlantic Ocean. Duxbury Beach suffers in
hurricanes and
nor'easters, as in the
Blizzard of '78 and the
1991 Perfect Storm.
Flora Eelgrass, culms of
American beach grass, small woody shrubs, and bayberry fruits are notable on the beach. Eelgrass appears to be in decline, however. According to a report by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, "The embayment has lost as much as 71% of its eelgrass between 1951 and 2014, with many beds shrinking and some disappearing altogether."Likely causes include water quality impairments from runoff and wastewater, and temperature increase due to
global heating.
Fauna s (
Calidris alba) take flight]
Piping plovers nest on the beach, and their habitats are protected by the Town of Duxbury's conservation officers and Duxbury Beach Reservation, Inc.'s staff. Piping plovers are
threatened or
endangered depending on the location in North America, but due in part to protected nesting sites like Duxbury Beach, Massachusetts piping plovers have seen a 500% increase in breeding pairs between 1986 and 2023, resulting in 50% of piping plovers on the Atlantic Coast nesting in Massachusetts.
Brant,
sanderlings,
semipalmated plovers,
sandpipers,
sea ducks, loons,
roseate terns,
grebes,
cormorants,
mergansers,
swallows, and various
gulls are all present in their proper seasons. == Powder Point Bridge ==