Experience: Piping Plover

When i am on the beach, i see a board that says "Endangered species nesting ground, keep away. Federal and State law". I am super curious to photograph whats in there. I am outside the fence and I heard a new bird call, and i pursued and haven't seen any. After few mins, i realized its a chick on the sand, which is so very well camouflaged. This chick is out of the fence area on to the beach.

This chick is super curious, lively and cute. It keps hiding in the impressions created by humans walking. It would hide, and puts its head above just a little bit to see if am still around. If am moving, it would stay put. If i walk away/come towards it, it would move farther and hide under another foot impression. It did this for so many minutes.

There were times, when i did not give this bird enough attention, but i was photographing different bird. Even then, this small chick's attention is on me and constantly watching me. Its a mixture of caution and more of curiousity.

I thought this is from pixar movie "Piper", that turned out to be a sandpiper - totally different species in taxa

Also, i noticed an enclosure with mesh, had no idea what it is used for, until i read this in the wiki:
To protect the nests from predators during incubation, many conservationists use exclosures, such as round turkey-wire cages with screened tops. These allow the adults to move in and out but stop predators from getting to the eggs.

Also read this about its nesting habitat and i saw this too:
It builds its nests higher on the shore near beach grass and other objects

Also saw this:
It typically runs in short, quick spurts and then stops.

Publicado el mayo 31, 2022 02:30 TARDE por

vinaybysani

Observaciones

Fotos / Sonidos

14 imágenes

Qué

Chorlo Chiflador (Charadrius melodus)

Observ.

vinaybysani

Fecha

Mayo 2022

Lugar

United States (Google, OSM)

Descripción

This is a breeding adult (orange bill with black tip, black crown stripe, black neck band)
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Piping_Plover/id

This is a female
ref: https://www.greatlakespipingplover.org/male-or-female

I saw this

To protect the nests from predators during incubation, many conservationists use exclosures, such as round turkey-wire cages with screened tops. These allow the adults to move in and out but stop predators from getting to the eggs.
It builds its nests higher on the shore near beach grass and other objects
It typically runs in short, quick spurts and then stops.

Vulnerable/Endangered species
Total population is currently estimated to be between 7600 - 8400 individuals. Intensive conservation efforts have yielded slow population growth, but it is expected that this trend would reverse if conservation efforts were stopped.

While it is federally threatened, the piping plover has been listed as state endangered in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin

In eastern Canada, the piping plover is found only on coastal beaches. In 1985, it was declared an endangered species by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.[12] A large population in Ontario has disappeared entirely.

In coastal areas such as Plymouth,[22] Cape Cod, Long Island, Sandy Hook,[23] Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware, North Manitou Island in Lake Michigan, and most recently, Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, beach access to pedestrians and off-road vehicles has been limited to protect piping plovers and their chicks at critical times of the breeding season

Climate issues

Higher sand temperatures also directly affect piping plovers. Piping plovers nest on the ground in open areas, which regularly subjects them to high temperatures
Research has assessed sea level rise’s threat to the piping plover habitat on barrier islands in Long Island, New York, finding that sea level rise will reduce piping plover breeding
areas.
The shallow wetlands of this region fluctuate water surface area in response to wet-dry periods. Piping plovers who breed in this region depend on the decreased water levels to reveal shorelines that they use for nesting

Foraging
They nest on sandy or gravel beaches or shoals. These shorebirds forage for food on beaches, usually by sight, moving across the beaches in short bursts. Generally, piping plovers will forage for food around the high tide wrack zone and along the water's edge. They eat mainly insects, marine worms, and crustaceans.

Migration
Piping plovers migrate from their northern range in the summer to the south in the winter months, migrating to the Gulf of Mexico, the southern Atlantic coast of the United States and the Caribbean. They begin migrating north in mid-March

Lifespan
Piping plovers generally live less than five years