Tag Archives: Gloucester Plover

GOOD MORNING FROM CAPE ANN PLOVER CENTRAL!

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Hello PiPl Friends!

It’s so nice to write “Cape Ann Plover Central” as I feel this nest on Cape Hedge Beach is an indication that the Pover population may be expanding further throughout our region. You can’t really make a judgement based on one family of Plovers, but with two at GHB and now one at CHB, I think the Cape Ann community as a team is doing our part to help restore this beautiful tender species.

All three chicks, plus Dad, were at GHB feeding in the flats, running nearly the entire length of the beach. I was there at 5am, and then again at 7:30 to say hello to Susan, and did not spot Mom this morning. If anyone sees all five together today, please write.

The Cape Hedge Beach family are thriving, too. One teeny tiny nearly got washed away by a wave this morning. It made me think, what if that actually happens, and a chicklet doesn’t right itself after a wave crashes over its head. I guess we’ll just jump in and try to find it!

Dad at Salt Island was sitting proudly on his nest, chest a-puff, and looking pretty pleased with himself. Perhaps we should call these two Salty and Izzie, rather than Dad and Mom one and two. On that note, Footie and Bridgette for our No.3 family, but I like Sally’s name for Dad, which is Handsome 🙂

Several of our Ambassadors have reminded me that over the Fourth of July weekend, people have been letting off fireworks near the Plovers at Good Harbor Beach. Next email is to Mayor Sefatia and Chief Conley. I am sure the GPD is super, super busy on the night of the Fourth, but I am wondering how Good Harbor Beach will be patrolled knowing it has become a hotspot for fireworks. There are crazy amounts of fireworks going off at Long Beach so I am also wondering, what happens at Cape Hedge and will email Susan C, who lives there and is a new Ambassador.

The GHB chicks were about 15 days old when this clip was shot. Often after thermosnuggling, the chicks pop up and stretch their developing wing muscles. The clip is extra fun because you don’t often see all three stretching as they run off, or if they do stretch, they do it some distance from where they were regulating. A lucky shot for the filmmaker 🙂

Thank goodness for yesterday’s blessed rain! Have a wonderfully cool and comfortable day.
xxKim

 

FIVE IN THE FLATS – AND HAPPY THREE WEEK OLD BIRTHDAY LITTLE PEEPS!

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Good morning PiPl Friends,

The GHB family of five were all in the flats this morning, foraging like nobody’s business. Both parents were very relaxed around the early morning beach walkers and joggers. The CHB three little chicklets are all doing beautifully as well. Leslie placed a double sided sign up by where this little family heads when the beach is crowded. Thank you so very much to Sally and Barbara for sharing tips and advice with Leslie!!

On Monday morning, Todd Pover, who is the senior wildlife biologist for the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey visited us at Good Harbor Beach. We are so honored to have Todd come to GHB. We were hoping to have a visit earlier in the season and I was planning to have a group of us meet Todd. But as it goes, this was last minute however, Todd did get to meet Ambassadors Maggie and Kai!

Todd heads the CWFNJ beach nesting bird project and has been involved with nesting shorebirds for nearly thirty years. Todd also leads CWFNJ Bahamas PiPl wintering grounds initiative. Years ago, Todd had a dream to restore early successional habitat at New Jersey’s Barnegat Light, habitat ideal for nesting shorebirds. Please watch this video and see how Todd’s beautiful dream project came to fruition.

Todd has recently returned from a site visit to check on Chicago’s Monty and Rose PiPls and it was interesting to get his insights on our similarities/differences. As they are at Good Harbor Beach, battles between Killdeers and PiPls are a regular occurrence at Chicago’s Michigan Lake shorebird habitat. Todd loves our signs and especially our new badges (thanking Jonathan, Duncan, and Ducan, once again a million times over for the badges). We had a great meeting and I am just so sorry it was so brief. After checking at GHB, Todd was headed over to Parker River NWR and was possibly going to stop at Cape Hedge Beach. Many thanks to Todd for taking an interest in our Cape Ann Piping Plovers!

Todd, Maggie, Nancy beachgoer, and Charlotte

Here is an image of one of the birthday chicks grabbing a Mayfly for breakfast. When I googled Mayfly-Massachusetts-beach, hoping to id what species of Mayfly, the first thing that popped up is a website on how to kill them. It’s no wonder why insect species around the world are in sharp decline, and becoming extinct at an unprecedented rate.

Anglers love Mayflies, and so do Plovers!

Last day of the heat wave. Please take care everyone.
xoKim

Mayfly life cycle -from nymph to adult, a wide range of invertebrates and vertebrates consume Mayflies

GOOD MORNING FROM PLOVER CENTRAL!

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Good Morning PiPl Friends,

All three 20 day old chicks at GHB are doing beautifully, all three eggs at Salt Island are a okay, and all three Rockport chicklets are present and accounted for. No sign of Mom at GHB this morning but that is not entirely unusual. She may leave earlier than the family, just to let our new Ambassadors know, that is somewhat normal for our Mom.

Please forgive this very hurried update and after tomorrow, Wednesday, I think things won’t be quite so hectic. We had a very special site visit yesterday by Todd Pover, Senior Wildlife Biologist for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, and I am eager to share more about Todd and the incredible work he does for CWFNJ but will have to wait until tomorrow.

The amazing Eric Hutchins, a Rockport resident and marine habitat specialist for NOAA, is helping with the Rockport PiPls!! Many thanks to Eric, he is a rock star of Cape Ann conservation! More about Eric tomorrow as well.

If I am slow to respond to emails, tomorrow will catch up with all! Thank you for understanding.

Here is the link to register to my Monarch and climate change presentation tonight.

And in case you missed the information, the link to why the Creek is closed to recreation.

And link to the Mass for saint Peter at Saint Ann Church, held Saturday.

Have a great day, drink tons of water, and try to stay cool.
xoKim

Cape Hedge Chicklets

GHB chick wrestling with a mini mollusk

ROCKPORT’S FIRST PIPING PLOVER FAMILY IN MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED YEARS!

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Dear PiPl Friends,

This morning a new family of Piping Plovers was located at Cape Hedge Beach. The three chicks appear to be about ten days old. Over the years there have been PiPl sightings at Cape Hedge but I believe these to be the first chicks hatched in Rockport in over a century. Thank you to Susan C, Susan H, and all the people who have written to let us know.

PiPl Ambassador Heidi Wakeman put Leslie Whelan and I in touch; Leslie is Rockport’s Board of Health commissioner and we will try our best to help them get organized with some protections. The chicks are in an extremely vulnerable location. People don’t understand how much space they need. They are coming within three feet to take photos and selfies with the chicks. I have thought for a while we would be seeing chicks at Rockport beaches and have been sharing Piping Plover posts with Rockport Stuff, the town’s public facebook page, to show folks a window into the future. I just didn’t realize it would be this soon!

If we can get a mini Rockport volunteer group together I am hoping we can give them some of our badges. I have an extra sign in my car and Leslie is going to contact Seaside Graphics about using our file that they have on hand to make a few more signs. Dave Rimmer is aware of the situation and we are hoping to get some symbolic fencing up to provide them with some sort of refuge on these busy, busy beach days.

Parking at Cape Hedge is for Rockport residents only. Any Rockporters that are interested in helping please contact Leslie at lesliemwhelan@gmail.com or me at kimsithdesigns@hotmail.com. Especially, especially during these first weeks, the chicks are at their most vulnerable and most likely to die. Any help given will be most appreciated.

Our chicks are doing beautifully and have spent much of the day down at the Creek, which is still closed to the public for swimming because of high levels of bacteria. Dave installed an exclosure at the Salt Island refuge this morning.

Thank you to all our Ambassadors braving the heat. It’s totally understandable if you have to leave your shift. Just do your best, as you always do <3

xoKim

P.S. More super exciting PiPl news to share but today’s a Charlotte day and will fill you in tomorrow.

A SECOND PIPING PLOVER NEST!

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Good Morning from Plover Central!

I hope everyone saw the earlier email; all three are present and feeding in the wrack and at the flats. Mom is using her foot today but either there is a new piece of seaweed attached to the part that is still wrapped around her foot or the old piece is coming untangled (wouldn’t that be fantastic!). We’ll just keep monitoring her. I hope the family heads down to the Creek today.

In searching for the chick last night, I found a second nest, with three eggs. This is wonderful and exciting and also follows the behavior of several other pairs around the north shore whose nests were wiped out by that tide and are now renesting. This is a huge commitment on all our parts. Please let me know if you need to spend less time on the beach with our new soon to be chicks and we will try to work out a schedule suitable for everyone.

New nest at Salt island

After that king tide of May 29th wiped out the nest at the Salt Island side, I couldn’t locate the #1 pair and didn’t see any signs of renesting, and no signs of the very pale female. It was very surprising a few days ago to see theSalt Island pale Mom in the roped off area visiting at #3. The Salt Island Dad has been spotted frequently by all of us but I do not know when the first egg was laid therefore we don’t have a definite hatch day. I will try to figure out an approximate time frame and let everyone know. Joe and Dave have been alerted and hopefully the exclosure will go up tomorrow.

All that being said, this is going to be a tough one I think, hatching so late during the busiest part of the summer and so far away from the Creek. We’ll just do the very best we can.

Thanks so very much again to Jonathan, Duncan, and Duncan. The lanyard and badges are such a tremendous help!!!

Happy Sunday!
xxKim

OUR AWESOME NEW PIPING PLOVER AMBASSADOR BADGES!

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Thank you Jonathan Golding, Duncan Todd, and Duncan Hollomon for the fantastic badges.

Demonstrated by the youngest member of Team Plover. Not easy getting a three-almost-four years-old to model! The words on the flip side read Federal and State Threatened Species

HAPPY MISTY MORNING FROM PLOVERVILLE AND THANK YOU JONATHAN, DUNCAN T, AND DUNCAN H

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Good Morning PiPl Friends,

Sally and I were remarking last night how the chicks seemed to have grown overnight. The plumplings are losing their baby faces and are turning into tweens. All three were feasting in the tide flats and wrack. The tide again was high, not as high as the previous two days, and the receding water is leaving a smorgasbord in its wake. The beach is so quiet on these foggy misty days. Perhaps the peaceful time foraging has allowed them to put on extra ounces.

I only saw Mom very briefly this morning. She was not putting any weight on her right foot and there appears to be a new piece of seaweed attached. I am going to stop by later today and try to get a better look.

Jonathan arrived this morning at GHB with the most fantastic and perfect Piping Plover badges. I think he is passing the bag along to Heidi, who will pass on to either Bette Jean or Jane Marie, and so on throughout the day. A thoughtful gift for us all and so very needed. A HUGE shoutout and thank you to Jonathan for organizing and purchasing, to Duncan T for his wonderful graphic skills, and to Duncan H for helping to organize.

Heidi saw a Dogfish Shark several days ago at the Creek! I think this is the second sighting in the past week. I’ll post her video later today.

Have a great day!
xoKim

The chicks two days apart, at 14 days and 16 days old

RAINY MORNING PIPING PLOVER UPDATE

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Good morning PiPl Friends, or Team Plover, as my granddaughter calls us,

All three snuggled under Dad on this wet and windy morning. I didn’t see Mom, but wasn’t there for very long.

No need for Ambassadors to go in the rain. There wasn’t a soul on the beach this morning and despite the weather, I am sure they are relishing the peace and quiet.

I took this photo yesterday of a pair of 25 day old chicks that I have been filming. You may recall their Super Dad, the PiPl that tried to roll the stray egg into the depression where the chicks were hatching. That nest had been destroyed by the same king tide that took out our nest at #1.

Sharing these photos to show the amazing wing growth that is taking place. The first photo is our chick’s wing buds at one day old, the next two at ten days old, the next at 14 days old, and the last is one of the Plover twins, at 24 days old.

Thank you so much to everyone for all your tremendous cooperation, updates, good thoughts, positive spirits, helpful ideas, and dedication to seeing this beautiful bird family survive on Gloucester’s most popular and beloved beach.

xoKim

Piping Plover chick wing buds one day old

Piping Plover chicks ten days old

Piping plover chick 14 days old

Piping plover chick 24 days 

BEAUTIFUL JUNE MORNING UPDATE FROM PLOVERVILLE

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Good afternoon PiPl Friends!

When I returned home from filming this afternoon my husband remarked, “another perfect day in paradise.” So much to love about these fine, fine June days!The filament is still wrapped around Mom’s foot however it doesn’t prevent her from going after birds ten times her size. Here she is chasing a Grackle this morning

The tide again rose more than halfway through the roped off area. Both parents and chicks were feeding well this morning, spending almost the entire time in the roped off refuge. Jennie currently can’t locate the chicks as I write this, but I imagine they are sleeping during the heat of the day, with very full bellies.

Eating an insect from the tip of the grass

I arrived this am at 5:15 and all the way from the footbridge, I could hear Dad loudly and repeatedly sounding the alarm. There was a photographer with her gear inside the roping. She became Extremely Defensive when I asked her to step back ten to fifteen feet, trying to explain about Dad piping alarm calls when people are too close, and Mom just getting by with her injured foot. She would have none of it and became extremely argumentative. I walked further down the beach and away and she began to argue even more vigorously. I surprised myself when I blurted out ZIp It, which is what I say to three and half year old Charlotte when she is being super fresh.The Ambassador badges can’t come soon enough!

When going to and from the beach, take a moment to smell the Milkweed. The dunes are redolent with the sweet scent of honey and hay, the perfume of Common Milkweed. Common Milkweed is in full glorious bloom all around Cape Ann and it is the only milkweed that has that beautiful fragrance. I just wish the Monarchs were here, too. I am giving a presentation on the Monarch Butterfly and Climate Change, Tuesday evening, the 29th, for the Cape Ann Climate Coilition’s quarterly meeting at 7:00pm. Flyer and zoom links to follow. It is free and open to the public. I hope you can come!Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

The full Strawberry Moon rises tonight over Gloucester at 8:46. It is the last Supermoon of the year and the skies look promising.

Have a great rest of your day, and beautiful evening!
xxKimWake up!

HAPPY TWO WEEKS OLD PIPLS!

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Good Morning Friends!

Gloriously chilly morning at GHB. Fifty two degrees! The chicks all three spent their two week birthday morning thermosnuggling with Dad and Mom.

Snuggles with Mom this morning

The tide came up nearly to the rock. The wrack lies entirely within the roped off area, providing lots of good foraging. With cool temperatures typically keeping beach goers away, hopefully today will be a peaceful one for the family.

High tide through the refuge

Mom is still limping, but moving quickly and flying at normal height.

Thank you to all for your daily reports! After yesterday’s downpours it was especially great to know the Family had congregated back in their refuge.

Thank you to Duncan T for volunteering to cover all empty shifts this weekend!

Have a super day!
xxKim

Clearing skies

SUPER MOM DOING OKAY

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Good Morning PiPl Friends!

Thank you to all our PiPl Ambassadors and beach going friends for keeping wonderful watchful eyes on Super Mom and PiPl Family, and for all the great info sharing!All three chicks are beautiful and as sturdy as can be on this, their 13th day birthday. Mom is flying at a normal height level and managing to maneuver around the beach. The largest piece of seaweed has fallen off. The filament is still wrapped around her foot with a piece about two inches long trailing. Her foot does not appear to be as swollen and painful looking as yesterday morning. The light from the overcast sky was fairly low this morning and I could not get a really good image for us to look at. Will try again later this afternoon when I stop by to see how she is doing.

Yes to Barbara, I spoke to the boys on the beach that had run through the roped off area, showed him Dad as he ran by, and explained about why we care for our endangered/threatened species. They seemed sincerely apologetic and I suggested they may want to be PiPl Ambassadors next year 🙂 I am very glad they apologized to you too, Barbara!

Thank you to everyone who is helping with picking up the trash. Last year I thought the garbage left behind was horrendous but blamed it on Covid, this year no excuses. The objects are larger and number greater, and it seems to be getting worse every year. We need a national anti litter campaign but in the meantime we’ll just do the best we can. I have a super idea to share about a great solution (a revenue generator for the City, too) from a friend who lives and frequents beaches in North Carolina. People who leave trash behind are ticketed. Word gets out, everyone stops littering for a bit. Then folks become lax and the officers are sent back to the beach for a few days to ticket again. There are many creative ways in which we could address this problem. It is not a DPW problem for lack of cleaning, but a people problem. I filled one and a half large trash bags and barely, barely made a dent. This morning I focused on the area behind the dune roping and wrackline and found a large knife, sticking straight up in the seaweed.

In the future we will not be going into the roped off area to collect garbage until the chicks fledge (unless it is something dangerous to the chicks). Even though there were very few people on the beach and I was at the opposite end to where they were foraging, it was disruptive, especially to Mom. At other PiPl beaches, including the DCR beaches I am documenting shorebirds at, trash is not collected in the restricted areas. It’s unsightly, but the reasons not to go in far outweigh the aesthetic value of cleaning the restricted area.

Yesterday morning Bill, who has been daily walking GHB for decades, spotted a living Horseshoe Crab at the shoreline. In all his years walking Good Harbor he has never seen a live Horseshoe Crab. Neither have I, nor had a number of people we spoke to yesterday morning, seen a living Horseshoe Crab at GHB. We have all seen them at many of our surrounding beaches, but never GHB! If anyone has ever seen a Horseshoe Crab at GHB, please write and let us know. Thank you!

Thank you to all our Ambassadors, each and everyone doing a tremendous job keeping watch over our PiPl Family.
xoKim

PIPING PLOVER SUPER MOM INJURED

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Good morning PiPl People,

All three present, which is wonderful however, Mom has a dangling something twisted around her foot. I thought it was seaweed but one of our early morning beach walkers, Lynn, thinks it is a hair tie. There is a fine piece wrapped around the foot in addition to the large piece.

Please give her extra, extra space. The family was not functioning as well as usual. Although Mom is thremosnuggling all three chicks, she is spending a great deal more time defending against avian predators. She can fly low and hop. She flies off towards the Crows or gull and then hops around trying to remove the dangling whatever.

Again, we really need to give her space so she can get down to the water and when there, feed, undisturbed. I am calling Jodi from Cape Ann Wildlife shortly and will contact Carolyn.

Not to jump to conclusions but Mom’s foot is very swollen. Occasionally shorebirds lose a foot or leg and they do go on to live. We’ll know more after talking to Jodi and Carolyn.

Edited note – update from Carolyn Mostello, Mass Wildlife’s Coastal Biologist, and our state advisor.

“Looks like seaweed to me, too. Yes, plovers can do ok with one foot; that said, these injures aren’t beneficial and could be very harmful.

I wouldn’t recommend doing anything at this point. However, please keep us posted on the condition of this bird. If she really deteriorates, we might consider trapping her and taking her to a rehab.” 

Thanks so very much to Carolyn for getting back to us!

The beach looked amazingly clean this morning! Sally shares that the group SurfRiders cleaned the beach yesterday. When I arrived there were at least half a dozen yellow bags waiting to be picked up and filled to capacity. And our awesome DPW was there at about 6am to not only pick up the bags but remove the wooden chair and other large items left on the beach. Thank you SurfRiders and Gloucester DPW!

Trash blows into the roped off area and behind the roping, up against the dunes. I can occasionally clean up back there, when the family is down at the water’s edge, and when there is absolutely no one else on the beach. I do not want everyday beachgoers to see anyone back there, even if it is to clean up trash because it doesn’t set an example we want others to see. Usually Monday mornings after sunrise there is a little lull in the beachgoers and I can get back there then.

Jennie, I think Cody is filling in several hours this afternoon but will double check, and I am going to try to get over there this afternoon.

Today’s update was going to be all about Super Dad Plovers but because of Mom’s injury, we’ll save that for another day. Just wishing all the dad’s, grandfathers, uncles, great grandpas, and Super Dads a very Happy Fathers Day and everyone, Happy First Day of Summer!

xxKim

Super Mom thermoregulating her chicks, despite foot injury

the things folks leave on the beach

HOORAY FOR OUR LITTLE CHICKS’ TEN DAY MILESTONE!

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Good Morning PiPl Friends,

Today marks the chicks’ ten day old birthday. Ten days is considered a milestone because at this point in time their chance of surviving improves vastly. From a nest of four eggs, on average, only 1.2 chicks survive. We’re aiming to fledge all three of our chicks!

Federal biologists count a chick as fledged at 35-36 days, whereas the State of Massachusetts considers a chick fledged at 28 days. We go with the 35-36 days because chicks develop at slightly different rates, depending on diet and accessibility to their food. We have observed that although they can fly some distance at 26 days, the chicks still rely on Mom and Dad to thermoregulate and for protection from predators. I have even seen a family of 42 day old chicks, that looked as large as their Dad, all crammed under his wings on chilly evening.

HexapodDad –  our wee ones under Dad’s wings this morning

No dogs in sight and the family was happily foraging and warming under wings the length and depth of #3, and a bit beyond.

Sally had a tremendously great idea which was to take a screenshot of the dog regulations to share with scofflaw dog owners, especially the ones that insist that dogs are permitted on the beach after hours. We can grab the screenshot and put it on our phones.

Fines

$300 per violation. Fines for violations will be double in season for beaches and other off-leash areas as determined. (GCO Ch. 4, Sec. 4-16a)

The trash people leave behind on the beach (and oftentimes not trash but perfectly good items) is beyond belief. I forgot to bring garbage bags this morning, thankfully Heidi did!! THANK YOU HEIDI! Last year I tied a few  bags onto the roping low down for the days when I forget to bring a bag and will try to remember to do that tomorrow. Anyone can help themselves to the bags if needed. Please don’t pick up tissue looking paper unless you are wearing gloves because people are using the dunes as their personal bathroom. Tissue paper degrades and it is too gross to handle.

Yesterday as I was leaving GHB via the footbridge, an entire family, Mom, Dad, and three kids, each had a bag and were picking up trash.  I wish so much I had taken a photo but had to hurry back. Thank you kind Family!

Have a great Saturday and maybe I’ll see you at the Juneteenth Celebration at Stage Fort Park!

 

HAPPY BEAUTIFUL JUNE DAYS FROM GOOD HARBOR BEACH!

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Good morning PiPl Friends,

Another glorious June morning, with the family of five all present. The chicks spent almost the entire two hours that I was there feeding up by the dunes, in the Sea Rocket and dune grasses. As Heidi came onto her shift and we were catching up, the family appeared to be calling the troops to head over to the Creek.

The PiPls extra, extra wary behavior, and the fact they did not come to the water’s edge for several hours, was very unusual morning behavior and I wonder if it was because a dog owner had walked her dog along the length of the roping at #3. This was clear to see from the footbridge as I was coming onto the beach at 5:15. Although the dog was on a leash, she had him right at the edge of the roping. And, too, there was a pile of buried garbage and plastic attracting a pair of crows, also near the roping.

Dog owners that bring dogs to Good Harbor Beach and folks burying garbage pose real threats to the Plovers for the many reasons explained. Just a friendly reminder to all, please do not bring your dog to Good Harbor Beach, and please take home all of your picnic and party trash.

Recently there was a motorized bike at Good Harbor. Motorized bikes are a relatively new thing and to let everyone know – no vehicles are permitted at Good Harbor Beach. According to state guidelines, a motorized bike is definitely considered a vehicle and is currently not permitted at Good Harbor Beach while shorebirds are present. If a person is moving toward the vicinity of the Plovers on a motorized bike and doesn’t respond to sharing information about the PiPls, or change direction, please call the police.

Crow digging for chips

Happy Beautiful June Days!

Unlike today, yesterday the chicks spent the better part of the morning in the wrack line and at the shoreline. 

 

GOOD HARBOR BEACH PIPING PLOVER CHRONICLES CONTINUE

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Good Morning!

All THREE present and accounted for! Although one did give a good scare, wandering on his own nearly as far as the last lifeguard chair by boardwalk entrance #1. Mom and Dad stayed close by the other two and both parents seemed particularly threatened by gulls this morning.

Mom successfully luring the young gull from her chicks

Badges are a great idea, Duncan. Are you thinking of a neck badge, something like this or did you have something else in mind.

When the chicks are primarily feeding at the wrackline and the beach is busy, please feel free to move a sign or two to the wrackline.

Thank you so very much to everyone that attended the film screening last night! I hope you will have a chance to see it again if that is the only way you have seen Beauty on the Wing. We were watching it through Catherine’s monitor, which is not the ideal way to view any film because of the poor visual quality, and perhaps because it was airing from Canada, the audio was not synced well to the text. All that being said, the conversation afterward was very interesting. Later this morning I am giving a screening to the British Mexican Society in London, all thanks to Zoom!

Have a wonderful day!
Warmest wishes,
Kim

Lots of good eating at Good Harbor!

The tiny speck to the right of the adult is one of the chicks. 

HAPPY ONE WEEK OLD BIRTHDAY ALL THREE WEE ONES!

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Good Morning PiPl Friends!

Today marks the one week old birthday of our three Good Harbor Beach Piping Plover chicks. The family spent the morning foraging at the wrack line. It sure is good eating there, with lots of mini mini invertebrates to be had, including mollusks, insects, and larvae.

Invertebrate dangling

The morning was breezy and sunny, with the regular early morning beach walkers, along with a nice crowd of surfers. Thank you to everyone visiting and for keeping eyes on the Plovers. We are so fortunate to have such a conservation-minded community!!

New definition of Zooming

Ten days old is the next milestone because when PiPl chicks reach that age, their chance of surviving improves exponentially.

Mom thermosnuggling chicks this morning

I am giving a round of applause to our very excellent Dad and Mom, who are stars in the world of Piping Plover parents. Perhaps it’s their age, or familiarity with Good Harbor Beach, but they are truly model parents, always tending their babes and always on high alert for potential threats. Bravo Mom and Dad!!!

Mom and Dad courting, April 15th

Dad feigning a broken wing to distract a predator

Dad thermosnuggling five day old chick

A FOGGY GOOD HARBOR BEACH GOOD MORNING

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Good Morning PiPl Friends!

Peaceful, serene morning at Good Harbor Beach with the PiPl chicks. All three were actively alternating between foraging, mostly at the wrack line, and thermosnuggling. Thank goodness for less than perfect beach days; the gray weather helps the PiPls grow stronger by allowing for less stressful foraging by the water’s edge.

The chicks are often difficult to see in the best of light. It’s even more challenging in fog and mist. Please travel cautiously, especially around the #3 area and especially, especially at the wrack line. Thank you!

Two little buttsGood Harbor Beach lifeguard chair

REST IN PEACE LITTLE CHICK

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Good morning Friends,

One of the little Plovers has passed. He became very weak on the trek back from the Creek and passed sometime during the night.

Piping Plover Ambassadors Sally and Barbara observed the family on their return trip. The little one was not doing well, struggling to keep up with Mom and Dad and the three siblings. He was abandoned in the sand, barely moving and piping softly. Sally and Barbara did the right thing, watching from the edge of the roping and not interfering. When I arrived, it was clear the only chance he had of surviving, albeit very slim, was to get back with the family. We placed the chick near a hummock the family likes to snuggle at and Dad immediately began to thermosnuggle the chick. We left at dark and all four chicks were snuggling under Dad.

This morning the chick was found exactly where he was left last night. I don’t think he lasted too much longer after we departed and its good he was with the siblings and Dad when he passed.

It’s alway a question to help or not to help. The agent the City is working with wrote that she thinks we did the right thing. I think that even if we had found a wildlife rescuer in time, it would not have survived even the car ride.

Thanks so very much to PiPl Ambassadors Sally Golding and Barbara Boudreau. It’s very challenging being an Ambassador to these beautiful little marshmallows, especially in situations where you feel so helpless. Many, many, many thanks to Sally and Barbara. They handled the situation perfectly and we are grateful <3

Five day old Piping Plover chick and Dad

PIPING PLOVER CHICK LOST AND FOUND!

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Good Morning PiPl Friends!

Only three chicks were spotted by our last Ambassador of the day yesterday evening. When I arrived at 5:30 this morning I, too, was more than disappointed to see only three chicks and was trying not to think of what may have happened to the tiny baby.

Hooray for Heidi! At 8:30am she had located the fourth chick. Smaller and quieter than the other three, it was up by the dune grass, thermosnuggling beneath Dad.

Tiny chick, big beach

The family is not yet feeding at the Creek but at the main beach and it is harrowing watching them run between people. They are trying to get to the wrackline. The parents appear to have a fascinating herding technique of getting them all to the wrack to feed for short stints before corralling the clan back to the refuge.

The beachgoers were amazing! They observed while standing back, which allowed the family to feed without disturbance. People are so awesome! So many were interested in their story and wanted to help. I am so grateful and so proud of our community for their consideration and efforts protecting the PiPls! If you see a Piping Plover ambassador on the beach, thank them for the tremendous job they are doing. And thank you Everyone for giving the PiPls some space!

If you would like to be a Piping Plover Ambassador, please contact me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com or leave a comment. Thank you!

I’ve got a secret

PIPING PLOVERS AND CROWS

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Good Morning Friends!

Beautiful quiet morning at GHB with our two day old little family. All four mini-marshmallows present and accounted for!

Reminder when visiting the PiPls, please stay at least ten feet back from the ropes. These first ten days the chicks are at their most extremely vulnerable. Case in point – An interested person came up to the ropes, hoping to get a shot with their cell phone. Mom was frightened off her roost snuggling the chicks and then a Crow flew in! Fortunately, Dad was nearby and gave the crow the business, in no uncertain terms.

People hovering for periods of time around the nesting area attracts both Crows and gulls. Crows are one of the greatest threats to Piping Plovers everywhere. This year has been especially horrific at several other beaches where I am documenting the PiPls. At one beach in particular they have decimated all nests, including renests, as well as killed at least four chicks. Once they discover how tasty PiPl eggs and chicks taste, they can’t seem to get enough. Crows are smart. It’s not that this beach has a great many Crows, but that the adults teach the young Crows and for that reason, the problem is continuing to grow.

Please clean up all garbage after visiting our beautiful beaches and please do not bury your garbage. The Crows and gulls are not deceived and will find.

*        *       *

A note about the Cecropia Moth caterpillars for friends still interested in raising these beautiful, albeit declining and threatened, members of the Giant Silk Moth Family. Caterpillars have at long last hatched! I’ll post later this afternoon to plan a caterpillar pick up day.

Happy last days of spring! Our garden is redolent with the scent of roses and the fragrance is wafting through my windows as I write this.

Warmest wishes,

Kim

Mom crouched in defensive mode, frightened off her roost this morning

 

 

 

PIPING PLOVER AMBASSADORS NEEDED

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Hello PiPl Ambassadors,

Attached is the ambassador schedule. We are working out the kinks and are are still looking to fill in a few gaps. Please let me know if you have any leads.  We are looking for someone to fill the 11 to 12 noon time, 2 to 3pm, and 3 to 4pm.

If you don’t mind sharing, could you please email me your phone numbers. I’ll add that information to the schedule and we can text each other. This will come in especially handy in case you miss the person before you and need a location on the chicks (thanks Jonathan for the suggestion!).

Thank goodness for the cooler temps! The chicks spent much of the early morning thermosnuggling.

When I arrived at GHB this morning, the solar moon eclipse was taking place. It was amazing and I tried to photograph. There were dozens of photographers lining Nautilus Road. So much fun to see so many so early in the morning!

Thank you Everyone for your kind dedication. The Plovers thank you, too!
xoKim

HAPPY NEWS – GOOD HARBOR BEACH PIPING PLOVER HATCH DAY!

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Eleven weeks since the day they arrived at Good Harbor Beach, daunting tides, torrential rain storms, countless disruptions, and near daily monitoring, four precious chicks hatched today. All look fluffy and healthy! Judging from their stage of “fluffiness,” I think they hatched about four hours or so ago. And, they all look fairly close in hatching time, which is a good thing and means we may not have one perpetually lagging behind in growth and movement around the beach. When I left at around 5:30pm, all four were tucked in under the shade of Dad.

Piping Plover ambassadors will be on the Beach from now until when the chicks fledge, which will be in about 35 days, or five weeks. Please feel free to ask us questions and learn more about the PiPls. We love to share!

Please stay clear of the symbolic roping. Especially now. For the first ten days of the chick’s life they are at their most extremely vulnerable.

Please be aware that Plover chicks do not stay in the roped off area, that is simply their refuge.  From their second day of life on, they travel up and down the length of the beach. Please be aware, especially when jogging and running along the beach, that one may be near underfoot.

Bringing dogs to the beach is simply the most dangerous thing anyone can do to tiny marshmallow-sized newborn chicks. No dogs, leashed or unleashed, at any time of day are permitted at GHB, even before 6am or after 6pm, which many are under the impression is acceptable.

If so inclined, please bring a trash bag to help keep Good Harbor Beach free from plastic pollutants and garbage. Less garbage means fewer crows and gulls, both of which eat shorebird eggs and hatchlings. Thank you for your help!

 

FACEPLANT!

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It’s not unusual to see Piping Plovers take a faceplant while learning to navigate beach terrain, resilient little tumblers that they are!

 

PIPING PLOVER AMBASSADOR INFORMATIONAL MEETING SUNDAY AT 5PM

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Hello PiPl Friends,

Just a reminder that our Piping Plover Ambassador informational meeting is tomorrow, Sunday, June 6th, at 5pm. We will meet at the footbridge side of the beach, by the symbolically roped off area. Please feel free to ask questions and bring up any concerns.

I do want to mention one very important topic ahead of time in case everyone can’t attend. Last year we had an issue with teenage boys late in the afternoon. Our objective as ambassadors is to help educate as well as to deescalate every situation. Especially when speaking with teenage boys after a hot sunny beach day and there may be underage drinking in the mix, the best we can do is not get into any discussions, but to try to keep a good eye on the chicks and sort of place your person in-between the culprits and the chicks. Please do not engage verbally, especially if they start taunting pro-Trump rhetoric, etc., as happened last year. We do not want to engage in any political discussions whatsoever. If persons are being very rude and threatening, please call the police. I would like everyone to have the police and animal control on speed dial on their phones.

Animal Control (Jamie and Teagan): 978-281-9746

Gloucester Police: 978-283-1212

I am not trying to frighten anyone and incidents usually only occur once a summer, if that. But in thinking about how on edge people are on airplanes and equally how folks are super eager to have fun on the beach, our mission at all times is to deescalate.

All that being said, I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

The best plover story of the week to share is this amazing Super Dad who tried so valiantly to save an egg. Last week’s King Tide wiped out many nests on North Shore beaches. I found this little family hatching two chicks outside of where their original nest scrape was located. The chicks were in a little divot, which looked much like a scrape, but it was not the nest where they had been prior to the storm. The nest had originally contained four eggs.

After watching the chicks hatch, Dad kept fussing about in a spot a foot or so away from the divot. Amazingly, there was a lone egg sitting in the flat sand. He tried and tried to roll and push the egg toward the two chicks, alternating between trying to also brood the egg. But because the egg was sitting high in the flat sand, not in a bowl, he couldn’t brood and kept sort of bellyflopping on top of the egg. He worked on the egg while simultaneously pausing to thermosnuggle the newborn hatchlings. The egg rolled toward a swath of wrack that had washed up during the storm and I think it got a little stuck there. This tremendous effort went on for about 45 minutes before I had to leave for work. Upon returning the following day, the egg was still there. Although not a happy ending, it was amazing and unforgettable behavior to observe, showing us once again, Dads are the super heroes of the Piping Plover world <3 

See you tomorrow!

Warmest wishes,

Kim

If you would like to be a Piping Plover Ambassador, please contact me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com

Goofy things chicks do! 

WING BUDS!

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I am so sorry to share that the Piping Plover egg that was washed down the beach did not hatch. It was all I could do to keep from helping the Dad who was trying to roll the egg into the nest but my actions could have caused major disruptions to the two chicks that had just hatched.

The two one day old hatchlings are however doing wonderfully, exploring the beach and finding lots to eat.

That tiny appendage is a wing bud! From day one, chicks begin stretching their buds This behavior strengthens flight muscles. They spread and flap often throughout the day.