Piping Plover Totally Explained

Everything about The Piping Plover totally explained

The Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) is a small plover.
   The Piping Plover is a sand-colored, 5 and a half inch, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches. The adult has yellow- orange legs, a black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black ring around the neck during the breeding season. It runs in short starts and stops. It is difficult to see when standing still as it blends well with open, sandy beach habitats.
   Their breeding habitat is beaches or sand flats on 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 or sandbars.
   There are 2 subspecies of Piping Plovers the eastern population known as Charadrius melodus melodus and the mid-west population known as Charadrius melodus circumcinctus.
   They are migratory in northern areas and winter on the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, the southern Atlantic coast of the United States and the West Indies.
   These shorebirds forage for food on beaches, usually by sight, moving across the beaches in short bursts. They mainly eat insects, marine worms and crustaceans.
   The bird's name is derived from its plaintive bell-like whistles which are often heard before the bird is visible. This bird is endangered and its range has reduced recently due to habitat loss and human activity near nesting sites. Some critical nesting habitat is now protected. In coastal areas such as Cape Cod or Long Island, beach access by ORVs is prohibited near nesting piping plovers - a cause of some conflict over the years - as a result of management plans. In Eastern Canada, the Piping Plover is only found on coastal beaches. In 1985 it was declared an endangered species by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. In 1986 it was declared to be endangered within the watershed of the Great Lakes and threatened in the remainder of its range in the United States, which resulted in the permanent closing of Moonstone Beach in South Kingston, Rhode Island.
   Piping Plovers migrate north beginning in mid-March. They begin mating and nesting on the beach in mid-April. Most first time nest attempts are 4 egg nests. Females lay 1 egg every other day. Second or third nesting attempts usually have three or two eggs. Incubation of the nest is shared by both the male and the female. Incubation of the nest is generally 27 days and eggs usually all hatch on the same day. Many places use exclosures, round turkey wire cages with screened top, to protect the nests from predators during incubation. These allow the adults to move in and out but stop predators from getting to the eggs.
   After a chick hatches they're able to feed themselves within hours, the adults role is then to protect them from the elements by brooding them. They also alert them to any danger. Adults will feign a broken wing, "broken wing display", drawing attention to itself and away from the chicks when a predator may be threatening the chicks safety. It takes about 30 days before a chick achieves flight capability. They must be able to fly at least 50 yards before they can be considered as fledglings.
   Migration south begins in August for some adults and fledglings, by mid-September most Piping Plovers have headed south for winter.

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