Told through the lens of a remarkable pair of Piping Plovers, every aspect of the bird’s life story is documented, from courtship to nesting to chick-rearing to fledgling.

Director’s Note

I began documenting the Good Harbor Beach Piping Plovers in May of 2016. What began as a quick trip to the beach to capture a few moments of footage of the recently arrived Plovers for an entirely different project about Cape Ann wildlife became, over time, the greatly expanded project that it is today. From that very first visit, it was apparent the birds were struggling under the pressures of human and dog disturbance.

Writing and photographing while filming all the while, I have published over several hundred posts, articles, and stories about the Good Harbor Beach PiPls, along with Plovers that I am documenting at several other north of Boston beaches. Typically I do not work this way and would not publish until the project were further along, but in order to help our community better understand how we can all help the Plovers, I found it necessary to publicize what was taking place at Good Harbor Beach.

The film footage, photos, and journals have provided the basis for the forthcoming film and children’s book about Atlantic Coast Piping Plovers. While the film is in production, I have created a lecture program and am offering that freely to our community. Please see below for a synopsis of the program and links to hundreds of stories about the threatened Piping Plover.

Piping Plover Short Films and ShortShorts

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Vote for Chicks on the Half Shell! Nesting shorebirds need safe habitat. Please share and vote to continue protections afforded under the Endangered Species Act.

What’s happening in the clip below? Within hours after hatching, tiny marshmallow-sized Piping Plover chicks leave the nest and begin foraging on their own. They still need Mom and Dad for thermo-snuggling and for protection. In this clip you can hear Dad Plover piping loudly, commanding the chick to take cover, and the day-old chick’s barely audible peeps in response.

See more shorts and short shorts at the end of the page –

Director’s Note

Writing and photographing while filming all the while, I have published over several hundred posts, articles, and stories about the Good Harbor Beach PiPls, along with Plovers that I am documenting at several other north of Boston beaches. Typically I do not work this way and would not publish until the project were further along, but in order to help our community better understand what was happening on our most popular beach, I found it necessary to publicize what was taking place at Good Harbor Beach.

The film footage, photos, and journals have provided the basis for the forthcoming film and children’s book about Atlantic Coast Piping Plovers. While the film is in production, I have created a lecture program and am offering that freely to our community. Please see below for a synopsis of the program and a list of hundreds of stories about the threatened Piping Plover.

Virtual Lecture Program

Life Story of the Atlantic Coast Piping Plovers

Through Kim Smith’s photo journal work and short films on the threatened Piping Plover, we can gain can a better understanding of how best to help this tiniest, but most resilient, of shorebirds as it breeds and migrates along the Atlantic Coast.

From courtship to nesting to chick-rearing to fledging, every aspect of the life story of the beautiful Piping Plover is presented through photographs and film footage. We’ll also cover the current status of the bird’s population, learn more about where Piping Plovers spend the winter, and how communities can work together to help Piping Plovers survive on even the busiest of beaches.

The film footage, photos, and journals have provided the basis for the forthcoming film and children’s book about the Atlantic Coast Piping Plovers.

For more information about presenting, please contact Kim Smith at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com

Why are there five chicks in this photo?

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Featured Story (see many more articles posted below and organized chronologically)

THE GOOD HARBOR BEACH PIPING PLOVERS – The story of a remarkably spirited pair of birds and how a community came together to help in their struggle for survival

Ambassador Group Works to Protect Gloucester’s Endangered Piping Plovers

UPDATE: Piping plovers are back

The Good Harbor Beach Parking Lot Plovers

In May of 2019, Kim was featured in Audubon Magazine for her work protecting and documenting Piping Plovers, “How Plover Chicks Born in a Parking Lot Spurred a City to Make Its Beach Safer.”

Piping Plover Stories and Photos 2016 –2020

If you would like to read more about Piping Plovers, the following is a (partial) list of several hundred articles and posts from April 2016 to the present. I haven’t yet organized the posts from May 2019 through February 2020 – a task in progress!

Told through the lens of a remarkable pair of Piping Plovers, every aspect of the bird’s life story is documented, from courtship to nesting to chick-rearing to fledgling.

Director’s Note

Piping Plover Short Films and ShortShorts

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February 2020 –

Stills from 2020

April 2018 – May 2019 Piping Plover articles by Kim Smith

2017 Piping Plover articles by Kim Smith

2016 Piping Plover articles by Kim Smith

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