Nature
Notes for May 27, 2016
Warblers
and Whimbrels festival last weekend at Presqu’ile Provincial Park provided some
excitement for the birders attending. The excitement was being provided by
neither warblers nor whimbrels, but by three Piping Plovers that were present
on the beach. Most exciting of all, two of them seemed to be pairing up. The
male was seen doing his courtship display and they were creating little scrapes
which could become nests.
If
this pair nests, it would be the first confirmed nesting of Piping Plovers at
Presqu’ile in about 100 years. The last confirmed nest records for Piping
Plover at Presqu’ile date from 1915 and 1916. There was no systematic recording
of observations between then and 1952, so it is impossible to know when they
stopped nesting there.
Photo © Rob Lonsberry Photography
Piping
Plovers are a small shorebird, similar in size to the more common Semipalmated
Plover. They are a paler colour than the Semipalmated, about the colour of dry
sand. This makes them extremely difficult to see and provides some protection
from predators.
These
birds are in the same family as Killdeers, a species with which many readers
may be more familiar. As the Killdeers do, Piping Plovers make their nests in
shallow scrapes on the bare ground. Their eggs, as the Killdeers, resemble
small stones.
Piping
Plover young are precocial. That is, they are able to run around and find their
own food as soon as they dry off after hatching. They are sometimes brooded and
guarded by their parents, but are generally quite independent.
The
Piping Plover is listed as “endangered” both federally and provincially. They
nest on sand beaches. This means that they are in direct competition with
humans for beaches. People like their beaches tidy, but the plovers need some
sticks and piles of debris in which to hide from potential predators.
During
the 1940s and 1950s, vehicles routinely drove onto the beach. In the 1960s,
beach grooming began, so that probably ended any breeding, if they were still
breeding. Since 2006, there has been at least one bird found on Presqu’ile’s
beach nearly annually (10 of 11 years).
What
are the threats, other than human feet, cars and pet dogs? These would include
raccoons, skunks and avian predators such as crows and gulls.
Rob
Lonsberry took the photo accompanying this article on May 24. This picture
shows the coloured leg bands which allow the bird to be identified as one that
hatched at Wasaga Beach in 2015.
Although
Piping Plovers have not nested on the Ontario shores of the Great Lakes for
many years, a small population has survived in Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore in Michigan. Many of the birds re-colonizing Ontario have originated
from this population.
Piping
Plovers returned to breed at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park in 2007, for the
first time in 30 years. The Park roped off an exclosure and placed a predator
deterrent cage over the nest. They also recruited an army of volunteers to
guard the nest and educate the public about the plovers. A similar protocol
will be observed at Presqu’ile if it is determined that the birds really are
nesting.
In
Canada, this species breeds in the Maritimes, in the Great Lakes basin, on Lake
of the Woods and in several remote areas in Manitoba. It does not go as far
south in winter as many shore birds. Piping Plovers winter mostly in the
southern U.S., but some go a bit further to Mexico and the Caribbean islands.
If
you go to Presqu’ile to see these birds, please respect the roped off area.
Bring binoculars and/or a spotting scope so that you can enjoy this rare sight.
