Tag Archives: Atlantic Coast Piping Plovers

Good Morning Sweet Chick!

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Dear Piping Plover Friends,

I hope you are having a joyous holiday season. If you live in the area, please be sure not to miss Gloucester’s Lobster Trap Tree. It’s extra magnificent this year, with 400 traps to honor Gloucester’s 400th anniversary. The tree is fancifully decorated with hundreds of buoys hand painted by local kids. Very generously, the traps for the tree were permanently given to the community by Jim Knott, CEO of Riverdale Mills, with the labor for making the traps donated by Brooks Trap Mill. Every year the tree is built by David Brooks, Shawn Henry and a fantastic group of local volunteers.

The clip is of a young Plover chick and his Dad. I love watching the little ones pop up from the warming wings of an adult. You never know what direction they are going to zoom off to but often enough, they stretch their tiny developing winglets and give a yawn after emerging from thermo-snuggling.

This is just one of hundreds of clips from our forthcoming documentary. Film finishing editing is going beautifully and we are planning to have a cut ready to submit to festivals in January.

Please consider making an end of the year tax deductible donation to our ongoing film funding efforts. Your contribution goes directly to the cost of finishing the film and is absolutely invaluable!

Donate here to our Network for Good online fundraiser .

We are deeply appreciative of every gift given, small and large. For large contributions, your name and organization’s logo is prominently displayed at the beginning and end of the film, with opportunities for up to 30 second promotional spots.  Please feel free to call or write with any questions regarding sponsorship. 

With gratitude to the following PiPl friends for their kind contributions – Alice and David Gardner (Beverly), JoeAnn Hart (Gloucester), Kim Tieger (Manchester), Joanne Hurd (Gloucester), Holly Niperus (Phoenix), Bill Girolamo (Melrose), Claudia Bermudez (Gloucester), Paula and Alexa Niziak (Rockport), Todd Pover (Springfield), Cynthia Dunn (Gloucester), Nancy Mattern (Albuquerque), Marion Frost (Ipswich), Cecile Christianson (Peabody), Sally Jackson (Gloucester), Donna Poirier Connerty (Gloucester), Mary Rhinelander (Gloucester), Jane Hazzard (Georgetown), Duncan Holloman (Gloucester), Karen Blandino (Rockport), Duncan Todd (Lexington), Sue Winslow (Gloucester), Amy Hauck-Kalti (Ohio), JoAnn Souza (Newburyport), Karen Thompson (San Francisco), and my sweet husband Tom 🙂

Thank you so very much for your support and for seeing the tender beauty in the life story of the Piping Plover.

Very best wishes,

xxKim

https://filmmakerscollab.networkforgood.com/projects/55077-filmmakers-collaborative-the-piping-plovers-of-moonlight-bay

GRAND NEWS FOR PIPING PLOVERS AND PROGRESS UPDATE ON OUR DOCUMENTARY #ploverjoyed

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Dear PiPl Friends,

Based on preliminary data from Mass Wildlife’s Endangered Species and Natural Heritage Program, approximately 1,145 pairs of Piping Plovers nested on Massachusetts beaches in 2023. This number is remarkable considering that when conservationists first began monitoring PiPls on Massachusetts beaches, there were fewer than 200 pairs. Because of the dedicated work of coastal waterbird conservation partners, volunteers, and regular beach going citizens, who all care deeply about the fate of these vulnerable little shorebirds, 50 percent of the Atlantic seaboard Piping Plover population now nests on Massachusetts beaches.

The short features two PiPl chicks and Dad Plover crossing handicap mats. The blue roll-out accessibility Mobi-mats have been installed at a number of Massachusetts beaches. They are wonderfully helpful for accessing the beach for wheel-chair bound people, and for families with baby strollers and wagons. I wondered how the Plovers would react. After a few moments of hesitation, our little Plover friends appeared unafraid, striding confidently across, and even stopping to investigate a bug.

The footage is from the forthcoming film, The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay. We are finessing, finessing, and finessing. With each edit, the film grows stronger. I am so proud of the work we have accomplished so far and in January we will begin submitting to film festivals!

Although Piping Plovers are slowly returning to the shores of Massachusetts, the Atlantic Coast Plover population as a whole remains at tremendous risk. Climate change, loss of habitat, vandalism, and predation are the primary challenges impeding the birds’ recovery. These same challenges are affecting not only Piping Plovers, but nesting shorebirds from coast to coast. I am thinking about the Western Snowy Plover, a closely related species that nests along the coast of California. Our documentary features the conservation policies and protocols of Massachusetts organizations. Whether a beachgoer recreating on the Atlantic Coast, shores of the Great Lakes, or Pacific Coast, The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay will be tremendously valuable in helping communities better understand why these protocols are in place, precisely how the policies help Plovers, and how we can collectively, and individually, help plover species recover nationwide. And, I think too, you will be smitten by the loveable Plover family featured in our film.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our online fundraiser to help complete our documentary. Filming is finished, however, post-production and festival costs have sky-rocketed; they are much greater than when we released our sister film project about species at risk, Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly. Working with the community to produce Beauty on the Wing was by far the most meaningful way to launch a film and we could not have done it without your help.

Please donate here to our Network for Good online fundraiser .

Feel free to call or write with any questions. We are deeply appreciative of any gifts given. Thank you.

With gratitude to the following PiPl friends for their kind contributions – Alice and David Gardner (Beverly), JoeAnn Hart (Gloucester), Kim Tieger (Manchester), Joanne Hurd (Gloucester), Holly Niperus (Phoenix), Bill Girolamo (Melrose), Claudia Bermudez (Gloucester), Paula and Alexa Niziak (Rockport), Todd Pover (Springfield), Cynthia Dunn (Gloucester), Nancy Mattern (Albuquerque), Sally Jackson (Gloucester), Marion Frost (Ipswich), Cecile Christianson (Peabody), Donna Poirier Connerty (Gloucester), Mary Rhinelander (Gloucester), Jane Hazzard (Georgetown), and my sweet husband Tom 🙂 Thank you so very much for your support and for seeing the tender beauty in the life story of the Piping Plover.

Very best wishes,

xxKim

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ARE DONATING TO OUR PIPING PLOVER FILM PROJECT!

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Dear PiPl Friends,

A huge shout out to our newest contributors to our Piping Plover film project fundraiser. My deepest thanks and appreciation to Alice and David Gardner (Beverly), JoeAnn Hart (Gloucester), Kim Tieger (Manchester), Joanne Hurd (Gloucester), Holly Niperus (Phoenix), Bill Girolamo (Melrose), Claudia Bermudez (Gloucester), Paula and Alexa Niziak (Rockport), Todd Pover (Springfield), Cynthia Dunn (Gloucester), Nancy Mattern (Albuquerque), Sally Jackson (Gloucester), and my sweet husband Tom 🙂 Thank you so very much for your support and for seeing the tender beauty in the life story of the Piping Plover.

Progress update – We are currently working with the stellar editing staff at Modulus Studios in Boston. Eric Masunaga and his assistant Shannon also worked on our sister film project, Beauty on the Wing. Keeping my fingers crossed and not wanting to jinx our progress, but the hope/goal is to have a cut ready to begin submitting to film festivals by the end of 2023. We have also received exceptionally helpful content advice from both Carolyn Mostello, the Massachusetts Coastal Waterbird Biologist and Todd Pover, Senior Wildlife Biologist for Conserve Wildlife New Jersey.

Thank you so very much again for your kind help.

Warmest wishes,

Kim

To contribute to The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our online Network for Good fundraiser DONATE HERE

 

To learn more about The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay documentary please go here.

HipHop

FUNNY PIPING PLOVER CHICKS NEW SHORT FILM

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Tiny Piping Plover chicks weigh about as much as a nickel at the time of hatching. Although capable of running about within a few hours after pushing out of their eggshells, one-day-old chicks are extraordinarily vulnerable. They are also adorably funny as they learn how to navigate the varied beach terrain and to forage for food. The hatchlings study their out-sized feet, stretch tiny wing buds, fall into mini fox holes, and tumble over even while only trying to scratch themselves. It’s not easy being one-day-old!

Mom and Dad spend a great deal of time helping the chicks to regulate their body temperature, especially in the earliest days of the chick’s life. In the last clips, Dad calls to the four siblings to warm up under his downy soft underwing feathers.  And by the way, Plover Dads are truly super heroes in the life story of the Piping Plover, co-parenting equally, and even then some.

The footage in this short is from the forthcoming film, The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our online fundraiser to help complete our documentary. Filming is finished however, post-production and festival costs have sky-rocketed; they are much greater than when we released our sister film project about species at risk, Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly. Without our community’s help, we could not have launched Beauty on the Wing. Working with the community to produce Beauty on the Wing made it far more meaningful.

We are deeply appreciative of any gifts given. Thank you.

Please donate here to our Network for Good online fundraiser https://filmmakerscollab.networkforgood.com/projects/55077-filmmakers-collaborative-the-piping-plovers-of-moonlight-bay

 

 

WORLD SHOREBIRDS DAY – A CELEBRATION OF SHOREBIRDS!

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HAPPY WORLD SHOREBIRDS DAY! Today, September 6th, marks the 10th anniversary of Worlds Shorebird Day. Worlds Shorebird Day was founded to help bring awareness to the plight of  shorebirds. More than 50 percent of shorebird species around the globe are in decline. 

Our documentary, The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay, shines a light on the Plovers and how these remarkably valiant little birds are surviving the pressures of habitat loss, human disturbance, and a warming climate. Massachusetts is at the fore of Piping Plover recovery and we are doing much that is right however, the recovery is not going as well in other regions.

Please think about donating to our film. I think of Plovers as a gateway species, similar to Monarch butterflies. Through developing a deeper understanding of the birds, people will be inspired to do all they can to join citizens around the world in providing safe habitat for nesting and migrating shorebirds.  Our sister film, Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly is currently airing on PBS and has reached markets in 87 percent of US households, in all major cities. Wouldn’t it be wonderfully meaningful to have that kind of outreach for Plovers!

DONATE HERE https://filmmakerscollab.org/films/piping-plovers-of-moonlight-bay/

 

LAUNCHING OUR PIPING PLOVER FILM FUNDRAISING EVENT TODAY!

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Dear Friends,

As many of you know that while we Piping Plover Ambassadors have been looking out over Cape Ann’s PiPls, I have also been working on a documentary film about Plovers nesting in Gloucester, along with filming Plover populations found at communities all around the north of Boston coastal region. Our GHB Plovers first arrived in Gloucester in 2016 and it was evident from the very first days that they were struggling to survive under the pressures of human and pet disturbances. As we were learning how to best help the Plovers nest undisturbed, I began to document Plovers at many other beaches to learn how other communities managed their Plover populations. I focused mostly on urban beaches as they are most similar to Good Harbor Beach.

Over the course of filming, I have spent several years documenting nesting Piping Plovers pairs that are extraordinary in their parenting skills, similar to our original pair of GHB Plovers, Super Dad and Super Mom. The documentary, The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay, is based on true life stories and is set in a fictional Massachusetts coastal town to protect the location of the Plovers.

Today we are launching our fundraising campaign. I am very proud to share that we have received our very first grant, from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Here is a link to our online fundraiser:

Link to our 501c fiscal sponsor Filmmakers Collaborative: https://filmmakerscollab.org/films/piping-plovers-of-moonlight-bay/
Link to the trailer: https://vimeo.com/818861213
Link to the Piping Plover Project website: https://wordpress.com/view/pipingploverproject.org

Gifts for The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay will support post production and distribution costs, including re-recording voiceover narration, color and sound editors, picture mastering, studio time, festival fees and applications, music and map rights, and an underwriting agent to bring the film to the wide audience of public television. Our goal is to raise $80,500.00 for post production with a total of $115,000.00 if the film is accepted to air on public television.

The names of underwriters contributing $10,000.00 and above will be proudly listed in the film’s special underwriting credit pod. What does it mean to be an underwriter? When you watch a film on public television and the announcer says (for example), “This program was made possible by gifts from Katherine and Charles Cassidy, by The Fairweather Foundation, by Lillian B. Anderson, and by The Arnhold Family, in Memory of Clarisse Arnhold,” that’s where your name, or the name of your foundation, will appear, at both the beginning and at the end of the film.

If you are interested in becoming an underwriter, please feel free to phone (978-290-3804) or email and I will be happy to send the formal proposal and budget.

All supporters, no matter how large or small the donation, will be listed on the film’s website. Any amount contributed is tremendously appreciated.

Thank you for being part of launching The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay!

Very best wishes,

Kim

MONARCHS AND PIPING PLOVER INTERVIEW WITH HEATHER ATWOOD AND KIM SMITH AT 1623 STUDIOS!

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Thank you Heather Atwood and 1623 Studios!

I so appreciate Heather taking the time to talk about Piping Plovers and Monarchs both. She asked tons of great questions and in a short period of time, we got in lots of information! Please see our interview below <3 !

For more about Hip Hop and the Good Harbor Beach Piping Plovers, see here –

And, please join me Thursday, August 18th, at 10am at Essex’s T.O.H.P. Burnham Library for a free  all ages (5 plus) Monarch Butterfly event, The Marvelous Magnificent Migrating Monarch. To register, GO HERE

 

Monarch Butterfly and Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias vericillata)

PIPING PLOVER GREAT NEWS UPDATE AND NEW SHORT FILM!

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Good morning dear PiPl Friends!

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying these beautiful dog days of August. I sure miss you all!

Last week I had the joy to attend the Coastal Waterbird Conservation Cooperators meeting. Next year we are all hoping for in person but for the past two years, the organizers have done  a fantastic job creating an interesting and engaging online event.

The meeting is held annually to bring together people and organizations that are involved with population monitoring and conservation efforts on behalf of coastal waterbirds. Threatened and endangered species, which include Least Terns, Piping Plovers, Roseate Terns, and American Oystercatchers, are given the greatest attention.

Nahant Beach chicks hatch day

Participants were invited by Carolyn Mostello, Mass Wildlife Coastal Waterbird Biologist and the event organizer, to submit to the “Strange and Unusual” part of the program. I created a short film about the Nahant Piping Plovers. It was extraordinary to observe the Nahant PiPl Dad valiantly try to rescue an egg after the king tides of Memorial Day weekend. You can see the video here:

Conservation organizations from all seven Massachusetts coastal regions participated, as well as conservationists from nearby New England states, including representatives from Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. To name just some of the local organizations presenting at the meeting were Mass Wildlife, Trustees of Reservations, Essex Greenbelt, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Mass Audubon, and US Fish and Wildlife.

In the morning, each region gave the 2021 population census report for nesting birds as well as providing information about problems and solutions. We all share similar challenges with predation from crows and gulls, uncontrolled dogs, enforcement, extremely high tides, storm washout, and habitat loss and it was very interesting to learn about how neighboring communities are managing problems and issues.

Unfortunately because of a doctor’s appointment, I had to miss the first part during which Trustees of Reservations Coastal Ecologist Jeff Denoncour presented on behalf of the North of Boston region, of which Gloucester and Rockport are a part.

I am hoping to get the stats from the part of the meeting that I missed and will share those as soon as they are available.

The absolutely tremendous news is that New England is doing fantastically well, particularly when compared to other regions. The policies of New England conservation organizations are extremely successful and are truly making an impactful difference, as you can see from the graph.

As Massachusetts citizens, we can give ourselves a collective pat on the back for the great work our state is accomplishing. The strides being made in Massachusetts are because of the dynamic partnerships between conservation organizations, towns, citizen scientists, volunteers, and ambassadors, just like ourselves, all working together!

Above two screenshots courtesy Coastal Waterbird Conservation Cooperators event.

Super PiPl Ambassador Jonathan Golding sent a photo of two Piping Plovers at Good Harbor Beach. I can’t get down to the Creek bed but I stood on the footbridge Saturday morning and took several snapshots of two Plovers that were way down the Creek. The pair were foraging together when suddenly they began piping their beautiful melodic peeps and off they flew together down the Creek.

If folks are wondering if the Plovers at the Creek are the Salt Island Dad and chick that went missing, these two are not them. Our Salt Island chick  would be about 31 days and would look more like this 33 day old chick from 2019. And it would not be flying as well as the Plovers seen in the photos from Saturday morning.

Have a great rest of your weekend!

xxKim


33 day old PiPl chick, from 2019

Plovers at the Creek Saturday morning –

Pair of Piping Plovers a Good Harbor Beach, August 7

Nahant hatch day chick, June 1, 2021

 

 

 

 

Good Morning from Good Harbor and Cape Hedge Beaches!

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Dear PiPl Friends,

Thank you so much for all your wonderful stories!

This week our fledglings/chicks have reached important milestones. Junior is 44 days old, the Cape Hedge chicks are about 35 days old, and our Littlest is two weeks and a day! The Cape Hedge chicks are doing the wonderfly flippy-floppy-fly-thing, and the Littlest is growing roundly, making magnificent treks up and down the beach.

Thank you everyone for your watchful eyes, diplomacy, eagerness to share with the public, and big hearts. You are all creating a wonderfully positive image for shorebirds everywhere and a super positive image for Cape Ann as well!!!

Skittles has been found! He was only about a block away from where he went missing, and sunning himself in a neighbor’s backyard. As Scott said, he was only waiting for the sun to come out 🙂

Have a great day!
xxKim

Happiness is a tail feather snuggle with Mom

HELLO SUNSHINE! Update on Piping Plover signs and lost Iguana Skittles

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Good morning PiPl Friends,

What a gorgeous SUNNY morning! And it’s not humid 🙂

Thank you so much to Denten Crews for the addition of signs at the concession stand and at the Witham Street entrance!

The GHB and CHB PiPls are foraging night and day, as they should be. My biologist friends who are monitoring beaches north of Boston share that they are getting an influx of fledglings and adults from area beaches as they are departing their nesting grounds.

Like shorebirds everywhere, the newly arrived Piping Plovers are intently foraging at tidal flats in preparation for their southward migration. My friends also shared many success stories, but also great challenges including terrible predation of PiPl eggs and chicks by Crows, and a colony of Least Terns wiped out by a skunk.

Skunks eat shorebird eggs and their presence can cause an entire colony to vacate a location. Gulls have taken over many coastal islands, leaving many of the smaller shorebirds to nest in less than desirable locations such as urban beaches. There is the potential for far greater disturbance at popular town and city beaches than at island locations due to cats, dogs, skunks, and people.

Here’s ambassador Jonathan Golding from the lifeguard watch tower

Nothing to do with Plovers, but especially for our Rockport readers and Ambassadors, please keep your eyes posted for a lost Iguana that goes by the adorable name Skittles. The Fitch family writes that they have had Skittles for eight years and he’s a beloved member of their family. He was lost in the Cape Ann Motor Inn area and is most likely in a tree. Iguanas are strictly vegetarians so he may also be in someone’s garden. Skittles is about five feet long.  Don’t approach but contact Rockport ACO Diane Corliss at 978-546-9488 or you can call me, I have the family’s phone number.

Have a great day!
xxKim

SALT ISLAND UPDATE and we have the swimmingest Plovers ever at Good Harbor Beach!

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Good morning dear lovers of all things PiPl!

I hope everyone is doing well. I sure miss seeing you at the beaches.

Salt Island Update (thank you to our Ward One Councilor Scott Memhard for the information) – the Salt Island hearing has been postponed upon Mr. Martignetti’s request. The hearing will be rescheduled for August.

In the meantime we can add Adrienne Lennon, the Conservation Commission clerk to the people who we should be sending our emails to –

alennon@gloucester-ma.gov

Please also send an email to Robert Gulla, the Conservation Commission co-chair  –

rgulla@robertgulla.com.

You can find a list of all members of the Conservation Commission here: https://gloucester-ma.gov/1027/Conservation-Commission, where their snail mail only addresses are provided

Several years ago, in 2019 I believe, our GHB PiPls began swimming daily across the Creek to forage on the other side. This year Junior was observed swimming, and now our littlest is also swimming.

PiPl Ambassador Deb writes, “Here’s the story. Dad and chick were feeding in different spots along the creek, then stopped to take a rest at the end of the creek. When they got back to work, Dad flew to the other side of the creek; chick dabbled her feet in the water, then swam over to the other side. At that point the creek was only about three feet wide.”
Deb sent a video but I am having trouble uploading. Thank you Deb for sharing! Here is the video from 2019 – Gloucester Plovers Go swimming

Have a great day!

xoKim

 

HAPPY TEN DAY OLD MILESTONE LITTLE CREEK BABY!

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Good morning PiPL Friends,

Sunday marked the late nest little chick’s ten-day-old milestone. Thank you to all our GHB and CHB ambassadors for your wonderfully watchful eyes and updates. And thank you Deb and Duncan for the late day/ early evening misty sightings.

Susan Pollack writes from her morning shift,

“Good morning all,

On this drizzly morning I found the new dad and chick all the way down the beach, foraging at the water’s edge. It was high tide, no time to be at the creek.

The dad was as protective ever, chasing off sanderlings skittering at the tideline and piping at walkers to keep their distance. In quieter moments he and the chick, as lively as ever, resorted to some thermo-snuggling.

When Jane arrived at 8, I headed west to look for Handsome and the fledgling. I found them  with Mom, who seems to have lost a leg, and a plover I assume is the mother of the new chick. All four birds were resting contentedly in the sand, their bodies cocked into the wind. No other birds were in sight, a peaceful scene.”

and Jennie shares a haiku for Heidi,

Heavy cloud day—
refuge for chick and dad
at river’s bend.

A brief update from Dave Rimmer – although there were PiPls at Coffins Beach, for the first time in a long while, there were no nests. The good news is that there are three chicks in Beverly!! Thanks so much to Dave for sharing the 411.

Jill, please let me know if you touch base with Joe regarding the monofilament bin. Thank you 🙂

Have a great day!
xxKim

Some photos of our little ten-day-old chick and family

From a nest of three eggs, two hatched

The egg that didn’t

First daysThe tiny one-day-old chick that perished

Salt Island Dad puffed out, making himself look larger while defending the littlest chick from Handsome

DRONES AND GREAT BLUE HERONS AT GOOD HARBOR BEACH

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Good morning PiPl Friends,

Eventful day for our PiPls and our Ambassadors was yesterday!

Thank you Jennie and Ann for being on top of the drone issue. The City’s website only says 50 feet but I am not sure if that follows federal and state guidelines. I thought the distance was 200 meters (650 feet, or approximately two football fields as my husband pointed out), which is what I wrote on the informational one sheets. We can find out from Carolyn where specifically it is written and exactly what is the distance. Either distance, causing a disturbance to the Plovers is considered harassment and is fineable.

Last summer I watched a drone hovering over a Plover family with only one-day-old chicks. It was mortifying to see how terrified the adults were and it took hours for them to settle down. Later that summer, I observed a drone chase a Great Blue Heron from treetop to treetop. These drone operators were there intentionally to film the birds. It was difficult to observe how oblivious they were to the bird’s responses. I reported the PiPl drone incident to the DCR biologists, but the man had left the area.

Thankfully the two guys yesterday at GHB stopped after some talking to by Jennie, and the Plovers were not their focus. Thank you Jennie and Ann for seeing the issue through and staying until they packed up.

Regarding the Great Blue Herons at Good Harbor yesterday, GBH are frequent visitors to GHB, both in the marsh, at the Creek, and along the front of the beach, too. They eat everything, including adult Plovers and chicks 🙁 As much as I love them, I keep a close watch.

Sue Winslow has been by to check on the GHB PiPls. She hasn’t yet seen them but can hear peeps in the marsh. Hopefully all survived the unrelenting deluge this early am. High tide was at 6:07, precisely when the storm was at its worse.

Udate, the parent and chick have been spotted down the Creek.

Thank you so very much again to everyone for your kind well wishes and offers to help. I have an appointment with a specialist tomorrow afternoon and will know then whether an operation is needed.

Have a lovely Sunday, funday!
xoKim

Although I made this video over eight years ago its still fun to see the Great Blue Heron at GHB eating an eel.

HOW DO WE KNOW HOW OLD THE CAPE HEDGE CHICKS ARE?

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Good Morning dear PiPl Friends,

Thank you all so very much for the updates and great insights. And for all your watchful eyes over our Cape Ann PiPls!

Many thanks again to Denton Crews for installing the posters, to Jonathan for organizing the printing and laminating, and to Duncan Todd for designing. What a tremendous contribution! Thanks to Jonathan for providing the photos, it’s so nice to see!

Thank you Deb and Sally for pointing out the Least Terns. Both Least and Common Terns were here last summer at this time. I wonder if they are nesting on Salt Island? Wouldn’ that be exciting!

A note about the age of the Cape Hedge chicks, which are approximately four weeks old as of last Thursday. The first sighting was reported on Friday June 18th and was confirmed by Sue Catalogna on June 26th. The chicks were teenie tiny on the 18th so I am assuming their hatch date was roughly Thursday the 17th, which would make them approximately four weeks old last Thursday, the 15th of July.

They look smaller than our GHB chicks at the same age, due largely I think to their diet at Cape Hedge. Chicks develop at different rates, depending on the availability and quality of food.

The sun is shining now, but it looks as though the rest of the weekend may be another overcast and quietly perfect day for chick rearing 🙂

Have a super weekend!

xoKim

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL OUR CAPE ANN PIPING PLOVERS!

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Hello dear PiPl Friends!

All good news to share about our Cape Ann PiPl families!

Happy Birthday to our oldest chick/fledgling who reached the five week/36 day old milestone today!

Happy Birthday to our Cape Hedge chicks who we think are 28 days, or four weeks old, approximately today!

And last, but not least, Happy Birthday to our littlest Salt Island chick, who turned one week old today!Dad and chicks, it’s not easy to spot the Cape Hedge Family in the fog and popples!

Wonderful sightings about all three families are being shared by our great team of Piping Plover Ambassadors. They are keeping excellent watch over Cape Ann’s Plovers but it hasn’t been easy, trying to locate these beautifully well-camouflaged chicks in the super dense fog of recent days.

Hello and a haiku from ambassador Heidi Wakeman this morning:

Fledgling, Dad at bridge,
Teeny, Dad,thermosnuggling
Up the creek, all’s well!

Later in the morning, ambassador Duncan adds this haiku

On this misty morning
Where are the miracle birds?
Ah…see?… right… here.

The Plover informational posters are being installed at the Good Harbor Beach kiosks either today or tomorrow. With gratitude and deep appreciation to Duncan Todd for creating the posters, to Jonathan and Sally for printing and laminating, and to Denton Crews for installing in the kiosks. Hooray Team Plover!

Keep your eyes peeled for interesting shorebirds visiting our beaches. The summer southward migration has begun!  Today ambassador Maggie spotted two Semipalmated Sandpipers and several days ago, a Dowitcher was seen at Brace Cove. Both species are returning from their northern breeding grounds at the Arctic tundra.Dowitchers at Good Harbor last spring on their northward migration

Spotted Sandpiper, left, Semipalmated Sandpiper, right

 

SUPER RAINY MORNING UPDATE FROM GOOD HARBOR BEACH

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Good morning PiPl Friends,

I am so sorry to write that we lost one of the teeny weeinies yesterday afternoon. Mid-morning, the family made the trek from #1 to the Creek, which I think is at least half a mile. This is a tremendous journey for three-day-old chicks and proved to be too much for the one that was a little more sleepy-eyed and not as strong as its sibling. It was difficult to observe how torn the parents were between sheltering the weak and dying chic and defending the mobile, healthy chick.

The #1 family spent the entire day at the Creek. There weren’t too many people however, the greatest disturbances were from fellow Plovers. A tremendous battle for territory is underway. For six years, the Creek has been the original Dad’s territory and is now being impinged upon by the new family. This behavior we predicted, I just didn’t realize the fighting would last an entire day, into the early evening. Piping Plovers display this same ferocity when establishing their nesting territory in early spring. Unfortunately, when territorial disputes take place around chicks, they often become targeted.

Piping Plover Smackdown

On a brighter note, this early rainy morning found Mom and Dad and the little one at the Creek contentedly foraging in the rain undisturbed.

Both Handsome and Junior were at #3 stuffing themselves in this year’s very excellent wrack!

Thank you to everyone who could for coming to the meeting. We were able to welcome our newest member of team Plover, Ann Cortissoz. She has been following along with our Plover chronicles and is going to take the impossible-to-fill two to four shift!!!! So nice to meet Ann, and so many thanks for lending a hand.

Our Ward One City Councilor Scott Memhard stopped by to say hello. Scott is running for re-election, so please sign his nomination papers when you see him. Thanks so much to Scott for being a super early supporter of the Plovers!

Unless the rain lets up, please take a much deserved day off. I’ll send the new schedule and phone numbers later this afternoon.

Have a great fun rainy-splash-in-the-puddles-sort-of-day (at least that is how I am presenting the day to Charlotte) 🙂

xoKim
Here is the link to the story about Northern Moon Snails

PIPING PLOVER SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE FROM GOOD HARBOR AND CAPE HEDGE BEACHES

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Good morning PiPl Friends,

Beautiful, beautiful morning! Early morning at GHB and the three day old teenie weenies were actively foraging between #1 and #2. Heidi noted Handsome (Sally’s name for Dad) and 32 day old plumping were spotted between #2 and #3. One of the pluses about #1 is that there is a Mockingbird nest in the vicinity. The Mockingbirds are unrelenting in chasing away the Crows 🙂

Lying low in the foxholes, waiting for dad to return

CHB between 7 and 7:30 found all four–the two chicks, and Mom and Dad–feeding in the flats. Mom caught a super fat juicy seaworm and the chicks were foraging nonstop, with foot tamping expertly executed.

Yesterday I found a dozen sand collars at CHB and this morning, none. Posting a story about sand collars later today. Such an amazing creation!

Hoping so much the cloudy weather predicted will help keep beachgoers to a minimum.

Have a super day!

xxKim

Brief update – we may have lost a chick at Cape Hedge

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Good Morning PiPl Friends,

I could only locate two chicks at Cape Hedge Beach. Perhaps one is off foraging on his own. Hopefully he will be spotted later today. I am so sorry to say though that it is not unusual for chicks to become separated from their family during a storm (or fireworks!).

Cape Hedge chicks

Our two-day-old pair of chicks at Good Harbor are doing wonderfully and spent the early morning foraging and thermosnuggling. One still has his little egg tooth, which typically falls off after the first or second day. The parents are awesome and going after very gull and crow in their ever changing territory. I didn’t see little fledgling and Handsome down by #3, but spent most of the morning with the new teeny tinies.

Jane shares that she and Maggie spotted a deer at GHB this morning, how wonderful!!

Today we are celebrating Charlotte’s fourth birthday so I will be home but tied up with family.

Thank you so very much to everyone for your continued dedication and big hearts.
xoKim

Good Harbor Beach one day old chicks

MAGICAL MISTY MORNING FROM CAPE HEDGE AND GOOD HARBOR BEACHES

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Good morning PiPl Friends!

The one day old and two newest members of the Cape Ann PiPls club are doing beautifully. Mom, Dad, and the teeny tinies were foraging in the wrack. Dad and Mom both went after a Herring Gull that flew in a little too close for comfort. Despite the parent’s best efforts to incubate, the last egg will not hatch and that is not entirely unusual, especially for a nest this late in the season.

Our beautiful plumpling-almost-fledged-30-day-old chick, and Dad, were running along the length of the beach and too, finding lots to eat in the wrack.

Cape Hedge chicks were also enjoying the beautiful peace and quiet of a misty morning beach. Too wet to bring cameras today, but here is a sequence of one of the Cape Hedge chicks capturing a large insect several days ago.

Enjoy this perfect for shorebird chick rearing weather. Hopefully the worst of Elsa will stay off shore.
xoKim

 

WONDERFUL NEWS FROM GOOD HARBOR AND CAPE HEDGE BEACHES!

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Good Morning PiPl Friends!

Lots to share – Heidi wrote that she watched our GHB chick take flight for several feet. Hooray! Many, many thanks to Susan for filling in for Heidi, who did a wonderful job and is a joy to talk with, and it’s so nice to have Heidi back. Heidi remarked what a difference a week makes in growth and development.

Proud Dad and 30 day old fledgling

The chicks are hatching at the Salt Island end of the beach!!! This is phenomenal, to have two successful nests at Good Harbor Beach.

It’s going to be a tough situation at this end of the beach and we have myriad questions, namely will the family try to make the super long trek to the Creek on hot, busy beach days to forage?

Mom and Dad are taking turns snuggling the two chicks that have hatched. The third egg has yet to hatch. We’ll check back at the end of the day.

I met several lovely couples and families at Cape Hedge this morning. Everyone is super interested in the Plovers, just as they are at GHB. All three chicks there are thriving, foraging in the tidal flats and between the popples, running for the shelter of the rocks when the occasional dog comes near, and staying relatively close to each other. A smart little one completely flattened in the sand as the Barn Swallows swooped low across the flats.

Two of the three Cape Hedge chicks navigating the popples

I was hoping the Ambassadors would have a little break between looking out for the Nautilus Road chicks and the Salt Island chicks. We are losing several Ambassadors during this flux. I have either a very rotten summer cold or the flu and am not able to take on extra shifts this week. Please email if you would like to be a Piping Plover Ambassador – kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com. You will meet the nicest, most kind hearted group of people.

Thank you to our Cape Ann community and Ambassadors. It’s going to take a village to fledge all these chicks!

xoKim

Happiness is when Mom steps on your head

WE LOST ANOTHER CHICK TO A GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL

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Good morning PiPl Friends,

Only one chick and Dad were feeding in the flats this morning. The take happened yesterday when Jill was watching the chicks and Dad up by the dune beach grass. A Great Black-backed, quickly joined by a flock, swooped in and appeared to be fighting over a bag of chips when the GBB Gull grabbed the chick. Dad tried once again valiantly to rescue his chick but was unsuccessful.

Our GHB chicks have been growing right on schedule and are finding good foraging at the Creek and in the flats. It is incredibly heartbreaking to lose chicks at any age, but especially these older stronger chicks, one at 22 days and now one at 27 days.

No ambassador should feel responsible in any way. Everyone of you is doing a fantastic job and your dedication of time and energy is so very much appreciated and worthwhile. Takes can happen on anyone’s shift and as I said before it is tremendous for the collective knowledge of PiPls to know how these takes happen and why their numbers are dwindling.

Would these two deaths have occurred if Mom had not been injured? It’s very hard to know because up until a few days ago, she appeared to be managing her injury, while both supervising and defending her chicks, and feeding herself.

What we do know is that American Crows and Great Black-backed Gulls are wreaking havoc on Piping Plover populations on the North Shore. For example, Crows have eaten every egg and chick on Revere Beach (with the exception of one nest still intact) and gulls are eating nearly fully fledged birds.

Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls are relatively new breeders to the Massachusetts coastline. Up until 1912, they were primarily winter visitors. The first Herring Gull nest ever recorded was in 1912 and the first Great Black-backed Gull nest in 1930. Because of easy access to food, they are thriving. Gulls are colonial breeders. They have pushed terns off islands (traditional tern nesting areas), forcing the terns to breed in less desirable locations. I think until we can somehow manage the gull population, the threatened and endangered Massachusetts shorebird species will continue to struggle greatly and recovery will be painstakingly slow..

This weekend I watched a couple dump all the remains of their picnic in front of a gull in the GHB parking lot. The two laughed as an enormous flock suddenly appeared, dining and squabbling over on the garbage. Humans feeding gulls and crows is exacerbating the problem tenfold and dogs running on the beach, which forces the PiPl parents to stop tending nests and chicks to chase after the dogs, leaves the babies vulnerable to gull and crow takes.

Area #3 Dad and one remaining chick, 28 days old

On a brighter note, the three Cape Hedge chicks are all present and accounted for on this beautiful July morning. I am estimating they are twenty days old, not based on their size, but because of the first sighting submitted. The family was joined by two Great Blue Herons, until a photographer frightened the herons off the beach, which may be just as well because GBH eat Plovers, too.

Sally witnessed a most beautiful PiPl parenting moment last night, and it is one of the reasons why we all continue to work so hard for these tender tiny creatures. She writes, ” I found Dad and one chick at the Creek. Dad showed off his flying skills to the baby and then encouraged his chick to cross the creek from the island to the mainland. It was a wonderful experience to watch the communications between the two of them and to see the little one paddle across the creek.”

Thank you PiPl Ambassadors for all you are doing to help grow Cape Ann’s Plover population.

xoKim

Chick conference, 20 day old chicks

CAPE HEDGE PIPING PLOVER CHICK REUNITED WITH FAMILY!!!

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Good Morning PiPl Friends,

Happy news to share!

Yesterday we received a call from Rockport ACO Diane Corliss and Cape Hedge neighbor Bethany that there was a chick stranded near the ramp.

Sure enough, a teeny was isolated from the family and heading up the ramp to the lookout and parking area. I scoured the beach and quickly found Mom and Dad and one chick, then ran back to the little lost one, scooped him up, and holding him securely in my hands, we then ran back to the parents.

As I approached, the Mom piped a single warning pipe that we were too close. Hearing Mom pipe, that little tiny chick in my hands called out the loudest, sharpest, PEEP you have ever heard from a chick. Hearing the little guy peep, Mom and Dad both began fluttering and piping. Knowing all were aware of each other’s presence, I gently placed the chick in the sand, backed out cautiously, and within seconds, Dad was snuggling the tiny displaced bird.

The Cape Hedge chick that became separated from its Mom and Dad  and siblings after the fireworks has been reunited and all three chicks were thremosnuggling and foraging this morning!

As my Rockport friend and wonderful conservationist Eric Hutchins wrote, this year at Cape Hedge is more triage than planning. Next year there will be a managed plan in place, possibly headed by Eric and friends, and we are looking forward to helping in any way.

I am sharing this story because we all need to be aware of the nesting shorebird’s presence on the beach however, no one should ever, ever touch a chick and could receive a vey hefty fine from the federal government by doing so. The chicks wander far and wide on the beach, but in this case, where the chick had been sepeartated from Mom and Dad for many hours, we felt it was urgent to get the family back together again The beachgoers did the right thing, initiating a call to their town’s ACO, in this instance, Diane Corliss.

GOOD MORNING FROM GOOD HARBOR AND CAPE HEDGE BEACHES

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Good morning PiPl Friends,
Lots to talk about this morning. First a huge shout out to Jonathan for the fantastic new ambassador lanyards – here’s beautiful Sally modeling – you can practically see these from a mile away. Many, many thanks to Jonathan – the green ones were awesome but these yellow and orange customized ones are fantabulous!! and I love the little bird 🙂Sally and our new custom ambassador lanyards!

Super Valliant Mom, Dad, and the two 26 day old chicks are all present and accounted for. Mom is not putting any weight on her bad leg. But she is foraging and doing a tremendous job supervising the chicks. I want to prepare everyone that Mom may very well lose her leg. This occasionally happens to shorebirds when there is a filament tightly wrapped. They do survive, and often go on with nicknames such as peg-leg (I don’t think I could bring myself to call our Mom that). We really hope this does not happen, but I just want to let everyone know.

It appears there was only one area where fireworks had been detonated at GHB; much, much improved over last year where fireworks were detonated next to, and within, the PiPl roped off refuge.

Good Harbor Beach 26 day old Piping Plovers

The nest at the Salt Island end of the beach is doing perfectly as expected. Dad was brooding and Mom was foraging at the incoming tide. To clarify, the nest is not on Salt Island, but at the Salt Island end of the beach, in area #1. No evidence of fireworks there.

Fireworks debris Cape Hedge

I could only find two chicks and Mom and Dad at Cape Hedge Beach this morning. If anyone sees the third, please write.

Sadly, the beach was littered with fireworks debris. It is not unusual to lose chicks, and adults, after a night of fireworks, especially as these were being detonated within feet of where the PiPls like to snuggle.

Cape Hedge Beach Dad thermosnuggling two chicks

Fireworks are illegal in Massachusetts. I wish towns would enforce this, especially where there are nesting Plovers. We are going to be more proactive on this front next year. Community, please, if you see people detonating fireworks at GHB or CHB, please call the police.

Last night I stopped in to check on ambassador Barbara and there were five dogs in the space of the twenty minutes that I was there. Three leashed and two not on leashes. Everytime the PiPls went to the shore to forage, they ran back in terror to the roped off refuge. Early morning and evening are ideal times for the PiPls to forage as there are fewer people on the beach. Very little foraging was taking place while much running away in fear was happening.

Barbara and dog owner – the dog owner was lovely and departed, not all are so kind

The problem is worse this year than last year. Last year we had the bold yellow signs in the parking lot and at the Witham Street end and we are still working on getting those reinstalled. Not everyone knows the rules, especially out of towners, air b and bers (is that a word), house guests, and hotel guests. The yellow signs really help, or at least compared to last year when we had the signs up, there were fewer dogs after hours.

Free wheeling pup in front of the PiPl refuge. Where was the owner?

I haven’t had time to read everyone’s emails from yesterday but will this afternoon. If there was anything pressing, please write again.

Jill, I can’t recall if you said you were covering the 11-12 and 2-4 times today as well as the weekend? It’s tough to tell if this is going to be a typical holiday beach day, but if anyone has some free time, please stop by in case, especially during mid-day. Thank you! Hurrying to write this as the youngest member of Team Plover is getting dropped off shortly.

Again, many thanks to Jonathan for the brilliant lanyards!!

xoKimBeautiful Dawn July 5, 2021

FOURTH OF JULY PLOVER LOVE STORY

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Good Morning PiPl Friends,

Thank you Susan, Maggie, and Jane for the morning update. Adding to update that the CHB chicklets (all three) were snuggled in when I left Cape Hedge.

Sharing a sweet short story – For six years, since our PiPl Dad and Mom first arrived, I have also been filming and photographing a Killdeer Mom and Dad. I am pretty certain they are the same pair from year to year because they nearly always make their nests in the exact same spot in the dunes, with the exception of one year when there was a particular person allowing her dog to run through the dunes every night, and the pair moved to the perimeter of the parking lot.

Killdeer Chicks hatching, 1st brood

Killdeers are very similar in many ways to Piping Plovers. They lay four speckled eggs (although darker and larger), do not begin brooding until all four have been laid, defend their territory, nests, and chicks in a variety of ways including the broken wing thing. We have all seen the incessant battles over foraging rights at the Creek between the Killdeers and Plovers. Killdeers are larger and nest in a wider variety of habitats than do PiPl and that may be just two of many reasons why there are many more Killdeers than Plovers.

First brood

The Good Harbor Beach pair of Killdeers are wonderfully successful parents. This year they had a very early nest and all four eggs hatched.The amazing thing was that when the chicks were only a few days old, and without much fanfare (nothing like the PiPl courtship dance), they mated!

Killdeer mating with day old chicks

I lost track of exactly when the eggs from the second nest hatched but several days ago, I caught a glimpse of the family, Mom, Dad and three younger chicks zooming around the marsh, foraging, and thermoregulating.

Second brood eggs

Second brood July 4th weekend

Happy Fourth of July!
xoKim

 

Killdeer nest scrape

Broken wing distraction display behavior

 

Chilly Saturday July 4th Piping Plover weekend update

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Good Morning PiPl Friends!

Thank you Susan and Maggie for your early morning reports. Great weather for the chick’s growth and fattening up! I am so sorry Mom still has the filament on her foot.

All three chicklets at Cape Hedge Beach are doing the same, feeding and snuggling, taking turns beneath Mom and Dad.

New ambassador Sue Catalogna and I met at Cape Hedge Beach this morning and we went over our goals as ambassadors. Sue is one of the Rockport residents who first alerted us to the chick’s presence at CHB. She described seeing the chicks for the first time and how astonishing it was to watch the teeny birds scrambling over the rocks and down to the beach.

Sue lives at Cape Hedge and showed me her wonderful pollinator garden. She has offered to assist in any emergencies as well.

I am going to share our phone numbers with the new ambassadors (see attached). Any new ambassadors, if you would like your phone number added please send.

Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative shared the following wonderfully informational videos with us:

Home Sweet Home: A Place for Birds and People
Home Sweet Home: A Place for Birds and People (Disturbance during migration)
Home Sweet Home: A Place for Birds and People (Disturbance by dogs)
To learn more about the tremendous work accomplished by Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative, visit their website here

 

Have a great wet chilly rainy day!
xoKim