OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says sandbars along part of the Missouri River are again closed to protect the nests of endangered bird species.

The Corps says endangered interior least terns and threatened piping plovers nest on sandbars between Ft. Peck Dam in Montana and Ponca State Park in Nebraska.

The birds use the sandbars to lay their eggs and hatch chicks.

The number of sandbars on the Missouri River is limited this year because the water level is higher than normal.

The nesting season runs from mid-May through August.