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Piping Plovers |
Light Green shown, colors may vary.
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Piping Plovers are migratory shorebirds that breed on the open beaches of the Atlantic Coast from Virginia up into Canada. These robin-sized birds grace the beaches of Cape Cod from March until September. Their nests, usually a simple dimple in the sand, contain up to four sand-colored eggs. The plover chicks leave the nest within hours of hatching and roam along the shoreline as their parents lead them to the best foraging areas. Piping Plovers eat small insects and other invertibrates that dwell in the seaweed that washes up on the beach. Piping Plovers have evolved a strategy of camouflage. When danger approaches, the adults give a special peep and all the chicks hide in the sand. Both the nests and chicks are very hard to see because they are the same color as the dry sand on which they nest and forage.
Listed as threatened on the Federal Endangered Species List in 1986, the Piping Plover has experienced a dramatic comeback in Massachusetts due to the active protection efforts focused on them. Their numbers have increased by over 300% in the state! They are not out of danger yet, though, and there are a number of things any beachgoer can do to help out.
- Stay out of any area marked as closed due to nesting activity
- Watch for the plover adults and chicks when you walk the beach; if you hear an adult peeping or acting frantically, be aware that young chicks may be underfoot and step carefully
- Don't leave leftover picnic foods on the beach, because this attracts predators and these animals would be as happy to eat a baby plover as they would a discarded hotdog bun!
Matthew Baily - Massachusetts Audubon Society | |
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