Piping plover

The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) is a sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. It has yellow-orange-red legs and a black band across its forehead, with a black stripe running along its breast. This chest band helps tell the sexes apart during the breeding season. The bird blends well with open, sandy beach habitats and moves in short, quick runs.

There are two subspecies of piping plovers. The bird's name comes from its soft, bell-like whistles often heard before it is seen. In 1986, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service listed some populations as endangered or threatened, but conservation efforts have helped them grow slowly.

Piping plovers breed on beaches and sand flats along the Atlantic coast, the shores of the Great Lakes, and in the mid-west of Canada and the United States. They nest on sandy or gravel beaches and search for food like insects, marine worms, and crustaceans along the water's edge.

Taxonomy

An American scientist named George Ord described the piping plover in 1824. There are two types of this bird. One type lives along the Atlantic Coast and the other lives in the Great Plains. The type from the Great Plains is usually darker and has darker cheeks. During breeding time, males of this type often have more black around their forehead and bill, and they may show a complete band across their chest. There is some overlap between the two types.

Description

The piping plover is a sturdy bird with a big round head, a short thick neck, and a stubby bill. It is a sand-colored, dull gray bird about the size of a sparrow. Adults have yellow-orange legs. Males have a noticeable black band across the forehead from eye to eye and a black ring around the neck during the breeding season, while females have a much lighter band on their forehead. Outside the breeding season, these black bands become less noticeable. The bill is orange with a black tip. These birds range from 15–19 cm (5.9–7.5 in) long, with a wingspan of 35–41 cm (14–16 in) and weigh between 42–64 g (1.5–2.3 oz).

The piping plover makes a soft, whistled "peep peep" sound when standing or flying. Its alarm call is a soft "pee-werp," with the second part being lower in pitch.

Distribution and habitat

The piping plover mainly lives on open sandy beaches or rocky shores, usually in high, dry areas away from water. You can find them along the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. and Canada, as well as on the shores of the Great Lakes. They build their nests higher up on the shore near beach grass and other objects.

These birds are rare anywhere except sand or rocky beaches when they are not migrating. They need their nesting spots to be far from water to stay dry during their nesting time, but they also need open sand. This often happens only in places that flood every few years, which brings fresh sand and clears away plants. As humans worked to stop unpredictable flooding, many of their old homes became overgrown, and their numbers went down. Today, efforts are made to clear sand in some areas to help them, but these are not as good as natural flooded habitats.

Piping plovers migrate from their northern homes in the summer to the south for winter, going to the Gulf of Mexico, the southern Atlantic coast of the United States, and the Caribbean, including The Bahamas. They have also been seen in Cuba and sometimes in other parts of the West Indies, Ecuador, and Venezuela. They start moving north again in mid-March. Their breeding areas stretch from southern Newfoundland to the northern parts of South Carolina. Migration south begins in August for some adults and young birds, and by mid-September, most have headed south for winter.

Behavior

The piping plover usually arrives at sandy beaches to breed in mid-March. Males start claiming territories and pairing up in late March. When pairs form, the male digs several small nests along the shore. Females choose a nest, decorate it, and then lay eggs. Most first-time nests have four eggs, with females laying one every other day. Both parents take turns watching the nest for about 27 days until the eggs hatch.

After hatching, the chicks can walk right away and need to find food near the water. The parents protect the chicks from danger and help them stay safe. It takes about 30 days for the chicks to learn to fly. To help protect the nests, some people use special cages that let the birds in but keep danger away. Threats to the nests include crows, cats, raccoons, and foxes, as well as storms and high tides. It's important to stay away from birds that seem upset to avoid causing trouble.

Status and conservation

The piping plover is a bird that is in danger and not seen very often. In the United States, it is considered "endangered" in the Great Lakes area and "threatened" in other places. Many states have listed it as endangered, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Efforts to protect the piping plover include closing beaches during breeding times and keeping people and vehicles away from nesting areas. These efforts have helped increase the population, but the bird still faces many challenges. Some areas where the piping plover lives have limited space, making it hard for the bird to survive. Conservation work also includes teaching the public about the bird and keeping pets away from nests.

In some places, like Plymouth, Cape Cod, and Long Island, special areas are closed to protect the birds. Studies show that human activity can make it harder for the birds to successfully raise their young. In Cook County, Illinois, a pair of piping plovers named Monty and Rose successfully raised chicks in recent years, showing that protection efforts can work.

Climate change

Piping plovers, birds that live near water, may be greatly affected by climate change because it changes both their water and land homes. Unlike many birds, piping plovers need some disturbance to their nests, making their relationship with climate change more complicated.

Rising sand temperatures can hurt piping plovers. These birds build their nests on the ground, where the heat can be too much. Studies showed that when sand got hotter, the birds spent less time near their nests and more time shading them. Warmer ground will likely change how these birds care for their nests.

In places like South Dakota, North Dakota, and Canada, wetter conditions from climate change are filling up shallow wetlands. Piping plovers need dry shorelines to build nests, and when water levels rise, there is less space for them. Research found that wetlands with more water had fewer piping plovers.

In Nebraska, however, climate change might help piping plovers. More frequent flooding could keep their river shorelines clear, which they need for nesting. But human efforts to protect property might stop these floods from happening, which could still hurt the birds.

On the Atlantic Coast, rising sea levels from climate change could reduce the sandy islands where piping plovers nest. Human buildings may also block their move to new areas. Big storms, made worse by higher sea levels, could flood much of their habitat. Similar concerns exist for piping plovers that spend winter in Florida, where rising seas and stronger storms could shrink their homes and make them harder to find.

In popular culture

In May 2023, the United States Postal Service made a special Forever stamp featuring the piping plover. This stamp was part of a group called Endangered Species and used a photo taken by Joel Sartore from his Photo Ark. The stamp was shown off at a special event at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, a place where many piping plovers make their homes.