facts about the piping plover
By zteve t evans
The Piping plover is a small shorebird between 5-6 inches in length, or roughly the size of a sparrow. They are named after the piping sound they make when calling.
Description
They are a very pale sandy-grey on their backs and their undersides are white. There is a brown or black band around their neck and a black tip on their tail.
Across their foreheads is a black, or brown bar and their faces are white. They have a small, stubby, orange beak with a black tip. Their legs and feet are yellowish orange.
During winter the Piping plover changes appearance. Their legs turn a paler shade of yellowish orange and their beak turns black. Although males and females look similar the male is larger and during the breeding season their beaks become a brighter orange.
They are very similar to other plovers in appearance such as Snowy, Semipalmated, Wilson's plovers and Killdeer. Piping plovers are regarded as two sub-species. The mid-west population is known as Charadrius melodus circumcinctus and the eastern population is Charadrius melodus melodus.
They are a very pale sandy-grey on their backs and their undersides are white. There is a brown or black band around their neck and a black tip on their tail.
Across their foreheads is a black, or brown bar and their faces are white. They have a small, stubby, orange beak with a black tip. Their legs and feet are yellowish orange.
During winter the Piping plover changes appearance. Their legs turn a paler shade of yellowish orange and their beak turns black. Although males and females look similar the male is larger and during the breeding season their beaks become a brighter orange.
They are very similar to other plovers in appearance such as Snowy, Semipalmated, Wilson's plovers and Killdeer. Piping plovers are regarded as two sub-species. The mid-west population is known as Charadrius melodus circumcinctus and the eastern population is Charadrius melodus melodus.
Range
Their breeding range extends from Alberta, Canada, and southwards to Oklahoma and northern parts of the Great Lakes and from Newfoundland southwards down the Atlantic coast to North Carolina. They prefer sandy beaches on the coast and inland they like sandy, dry places.
Piping plovers spend winter on the Gulf coast and the southern Atlantic coast north to North Carolina. In New Hampshire they are considered to be an endangered species.
Diet
Their diet consists of fly larvae, worms, insects, beetles, molluscs, crustaceans and small invertebrates.
Breeding
In late March or early April the Piping plover will return to its breeding grounds. The male will put on a display for the female by flying over her and sweeping down closely to the ground.
It is the task of the male to choose the nesting site and defend it. He will build the nest well above the tide line, scraping a hollow in the sand. This may be lined with stones and shell fragments.
Their breeding range extends from Alberta, Canada, and southwards to Oklahoma and northern parts of the Great Lakes and from Newfoundland southwards down the Atlantic coast to North Carolina. They prefer sandy beaches on the coast and inland they like sandy, dry places.
Piping plovers spend winter on the Gulf coast and the southern Atlantic coast north to North Carolina. In New Hampshire they are considered to be an endangered species.
Diet
Their diet consists of fly larvae, worms, insects, beetles, molluscs, crustaceans and small invertebrates.
Breeding
In late March or early April the Piping plover will return to its breeding grounds. The male will put on a display for the female by flying over her and sweeping down closely to the ground.
It is the task of the male to choose the nesting site and defend it. He will build the nest well above the tide line, scraping a hollow in the sand. This may be lined with stones and shell fragments.
The female usually lays 4 eggs which take about 25 days to hatch. The chicks will fledge when they are around 3 to 4 weeks old. The parent birds do not bring food to the chicks. Instead the chicks leave the nest and forage for food themselves. If the chicks are threatened by a predator one of the parents may distract the predator by feigning an injury and luring it away.
Piping plovers and their nests and eggs are so well camouflaged from predators that they can be in danger of being stepped on by humans.
Threats and Conservation
In some places human activity and the development of sea side and lake side areas for recreation and housing has destroyed or disrupted nesting sites. In some place the areas where Piping plovers nest are closed off during the breeding season to prevent humans accidentally or otherwise, damaging nests and eggs.
In the US the Piping plover is listed as 'Endangered' in the Great Lakes region and 'Threatened' in the rest of it breeding range.
© 28/10/2009 zteve t evans
Piping plovers and their nests and eggs are so well camouflaged from predators that they can be in danger of being stepped on by humans.
Threats and Conservation
In some places human activity and the development of sea side and lake side areas for recreation and housing has destroyed or disrupted nesting sites. In some place the areas where Piping plovers nest are closed off during the breeding season to prevent humans accidentally or otherwise, damaging nests and eggs.
In the US the Piping plover is listed as 'Endangered' in the Great Lakes region and 'Threatened' in the rest of it breeding range.
© 28/10/2009 zteve t evans
References and Attributions
Copyright October 28, 2009 zteve t evans
Copyright October 28, 2009 zteve t evans