Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)
- HABITAT - Piping Plovers are beach birds. They breed along ocean shores in the Northeast and along lake shores and wetlands in the northern Great Plains and Great Lakes. They nest above the high water mark in soft sandy areas with sparse vegetation. In the winter they use coastal beaches, sandflats, and mudflats.
- DIET - Piping Plovers forage for freshwater and marine invertebrates typically near the water's edge.
- FACTS - Piping Plovers have gained a lot of publicity in Ontario, Canada. Piping Plovers returned to Ontario to breed in 2007, after a 30 year absence. They are an endangered species with just a few nesting in Ontario. They’re drawn to our province’s largest sand beaches, which they share with hundreds of beach goers each summer. Teams of volunteers have been working hard to protect any areas where they nest by roping it off and guarding the eggs and chicks from dogs and thoughtless people as well as natural predators. It is a tough fight as many humans think that they deserve to beach more than the plovers. It is a constant fight against municipalities who would rather rake the beaches for human recreation than letting the birds nest there. This is because they believe the beach-loving humans are better for the local economy that bird-loving humans and money is more important than trying to save endangered species.
Piping Plover GALLERY
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