Tag Archives: Endangered and threatened species

Thank You Plover Friends!

Dear PiPl Friends,

Thank you to all our Piping Plover ambassadors, volunteers, shorebird organizations, film donors, and well-wishers. Your kind support over the years for both our volunteer program and film project is so very greatly appreciated.

We have many people and conservation organizations to be thankful for, especially here in Massachusetts, where we are at the forefront of Piping Plover recovery. Organizations such as Mass Audubon’s Coastal Waterbird Program, Mass Wildlife, Trustees of Reservations, and Essex County Greenbelt Association have created stellar programs to help protect , monitor, and engage in our communities. Nationwide, Piping Plovers were once on the brink of extinction. In 1986, there were fewer than 200 pairs breeding in Massachusetts. Preliminary data from MassWildlife reports that there were 1,196 nesting pairs in 2024, a whopping 500 percent increase from 1986. PiPl recovery is not as bright in other regions as it is in Massachusetts. Plovers are counting on Massachusetts peoples and programs!

We have new and expanded Plover projects and programs planned for the coming year and more good news to share for our forthcoming documentary. If you are interested in becoming a Piping Plover Ambassador, please leave a comment or email me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com.

Wishing us all peace and joy and more conservation success stories in the coming New Year!

Warmest wishes,

Kim

Migrating Piping Plover “Elwood” News – Delaware to Florida Express!

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Piping Plover first-hatch-year Elwood, who was banded as a tiny baby in Delaware this past spring, was recently photographed in Jacksonville, Florida! Photographed by Jacksonville resident Brett Moyer, Elwood was spotted foraging at the tidal flats of Huguenot Memorial Park. Sightings of birds making their first year migration are particularly rare.

PiPls are listed as endangered in Delaware. Historically, they typically nest at Cape Henlopen State Park but since 2016, PiPls been breeding in increasing numbers at Fowler Beach in Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, according to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources.

Festival de l’Oiseau et de la Nature and other good news!

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Dear PiPl Friends,

I hope all is going well with your holiday making. I am grateful for the return of warm weather even if it is only going to last a few days, not only for the sunshine but also because our visiting Wood Duck has also been spotted basking in the warmth.

I have excellent news to share. The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay has been accepted to the Festival de l’Oiseau et de la Nature! It is the largest nature festival in France and takes place over a nine day period at the Bay of Somme. Located in the North of France, the Bay of Somme is an internationally recognized migratory site. For the past 33 years, in celebration of spring migration, the Festival has offered documentary screenings, activities for children, lectures, courses, and photo and art exhibits. This is a festival we were really, really hoping to be accepted to and I am over the Moon. We also recently received Best in Festival at the Nature Without Borders Film Festival and Outstanding Excellence at their sister festival, Documentaries Without Borders. It’s been a very exciting last couple of weeks.

Many readers who receive this newsletter have already contributed to the first phase of fundraising, to bring our documentary to festivals, and we are beyond grateful. We are now in the second round of fundraising, to bring the film to public television. A bunch of PiPl friends have mentioned they would like to contribute to this second round by year’s end. We are so appreciative of all the generous donations given to date and this is just a gentle reminder. If you are planning to contribute, or if I can answer any questions, please let me know. Again, all contributions, both through our online fundraiser and larger contributions, are tax deductible as we work with our 501c3 fiscal sponsor, Filmmakers Collaborative.

On a much less positive note, here is a link to a recent story that I wrote about the parasitic disease mange, the connection between the disease and rodenticides, and how rat poison is impacting both mammals and raptors. I shared photos of a local Coyote suffering from an advanced stage of mange, so don’t click on this link if you are feeling at all low.

Perhaps the most positive news of the month is that the Monarch may soon be listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Many organizations and individuals have worked tirelessly to bring this proposed listing about. USFWS is seeking public input on the Monarch’s ESA listing over a 90 day period, from December 12th through March 12th. If you would like to comment, please follow this link.

The photo below is of a Monarch and Seaside Goldenrod and was taken at the beautiful Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences this past October.

Happy Holidays and holiday-making!
Warmest wishes,
xxKim

Isn’t this bird just beyond exquisite?! The Pied Avocet. It returns each spring to the Bay of Somme to breed. I read that after mating, a pair will cross their bills as part of the bonding ritual, and you can see how absolutely adorable are the chicks. Composite image and chick photo courtesy wikicommons media.

#ploverjoyed The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay Receives Best in Festival!

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We are very surprised and delighted to share that The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay received the top award at the Nature Without Borders International Film Festival! The screening event takes place in Delaware sometime in June and and we’ll let you know more as do we know more. This past week we also received the Outstanding Excellence Award for a Wildlife/Nature Documentary at the Women’s International Film Festival – a two award week! I don’t think that will ever happen again. Thank you once again to all our supporters. We would not be this far along in production without your kind and generous help.

The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay Awarded Best Documentary Feature at the Queen City Film Festival!

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Dear PiPl Friends,

Beautiful words of wisdom to keep in mind, from Emily Dickinson –

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all

Two hopeful good news ‘things with feathers’ happenings to share – The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay was awarded the Best Feature Documentary at the Queen City Film Festival. I am looking forward to sharing the news with my father- and sister-in-law, and my husband’s entire family because they all live in, or come from, Cincinnati!

Even though we gave the location of the film a fictional name, Moonlight Bay, the locations look a great deal like north of Boston/Atlantic coast beaches. One of my greatest hopes for our Plover documentary is that it would have universal appeal, that people of all ages from regions across the country would find the film interesting. We are overjoyed audiences are finding it so!

The very day the news of the award came to my inbox, a story about Piping Plover chicks at the Cincinnati Zoo did as well. Three chick were hand-reared at the zoo this past summer. Due to nest abandonment, each summer a portion of Piping Plover eggs are rescued from their natural habitat. Zookeepers from around the country work to hatch and rear the chicks in a project created by the Detroit Zoo. Volunteers monitor wild nests closely and if they find eggs in need of attention, they collect and deliver the eggs to the hand-rearing facility. This season, a total of 22 chicks were hatched out. The three hand-reared chicks at the Cincinnati Zoo were successfully returned to the wild.

The Atlantic Coast Piping Plovers are on the threatened species list however, the Great Lakes Plovers are at even greater risk. Great Lakes Plovers are listed as endangered. When the Great Lakes Plovers were given the ESA listing in 1984, there were only 12 Great Lakes pairs remaining. 2024 was a record year for GLPlover, with 78 pairs successfully fledging 122 wild chicks.

We are making headway in our grant writing and fundraising efforts and I hope to have some good news to share with you soon. In the meantime, I would like to thank once again all our friends who have donated so generously. Without your kind help, we would not be nearly as far along in production and in film festival submissions. Thank you.

With gratitude to the following PiPl friends for their kind contributions – Lauren Mercadante (New Hampshire), Jane Alexander (New York), Cornelius Hauck (Cincinnati), Sally Jackson (Gloucester), Cape Ann Garden Club, Brace Cove Foundation (Gloucester), JH Foundation/Fifth Third Bank (Ohio), Janis and John Bell (Gloucester), Jennie Meyer (Gloucester), 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), Carolyn Mostello (Rhode Island), Susan Pollack (Gloucester), Peggy O’Malley (Gloucester), Hilda Santos (Gloucester), Maggie Debbie (Gloucester), Sandy Barry (Gloucester), The Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution, Mary Keys (Madeira, Ohio), Barbara Boudreau (Gloucester), Suki Augusti (Rockport), Jonathan and Sally Golding (Gloucester), Sue Winslow (Gloucester), Cecile Christensen (Peabody), Marty and Russ Coleman (Dallas), David Brooks (Troy, Michigan), Karen Maslow (Gloucester), Lisa Craig (Winchester), Menotomy Bird Club (Winchester), Lyda Kuth (Belmont), and, my as always, wonderfully supportive husband, Tom <3

MONARCHS IN THE NEWS – ENDANGERED, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO WARRANT PROTECTIONS

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The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that Monarchs are indeed threatened with extinction, but will not be added to the US list of Endangered and Threatened Species. The official designation is “warranted, but precluded,” which means they fall in line behind 161 other species considered more endangered.

Monarchs mating in a patch of Common Milkweed, Good Harbor Beach Gloucester

From USFWS –

What action did the Service take?
We have made a 12-month finding on a petition to list the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Based on a thorough review of the monarch’s status, we determined that listing is warranted, but a proposal to list the monarch is precluded at this time while we work on higher-priority listing actions.

Is the monarch federally protected now?
No. Our 12-month finding does not protect monarchs under the ESA at this time. We first must propose the monarch for listing as either an endangered or threatened species, gather and analyze public comments and any new information, and using the best available science, make a final decision and publish a final rule. That process is deferred while we work on higher-priority listing actions.

What is a 12-month finding?
Under the ESA, when we receive a petition to list a species, we first make a 90-day finding, in which we evaluate the information in the petition to see if it is substantial enough to begin a review of the species’ status. If it is a substantial finding, we then prioritize the species in our evaluation process, and at the appropriate time, we begin a status review. The culmination of that review is a 12-month finding on whether listing is warranted, not warranted, or warranted but precluded by higher-priority listing actions.

Who petitioned the Service to list the monarch?
The Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, Xerces Society and a private individual petitioned us in 2014 to list the monarch. We made a positive 90-day finding in December 2014 and launched the status review in 2016.

Read more questions and answers here on the USFWS website –