Tag Archives: Piping Plover chick 10-11 days old

MORE EXPLOSIVES AT GOOD HARBOR BEACH BUT LITTLE CHICK AND DAD COME THROUGH THE NIGHT!

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Good Morning Piping Plover Ambassadors,

Miraculously Little Chick and Dad were found at their home base snuggling on yet another chilly, foggy morning. Despite a second night of Good Harbor Beach Wild West activity, the duo were foraging and thermoregulating as is usual for these cooler days.

Jonathan and Sally stopped by the beach around 8pm and Tom and I about 8:30 pm and all appeared relatively calm and peaceful. I lost my phone in the sand and my sweet guy went back to GHB about an hour later to look for it where he found a bunch of kids INSIDE home base, lighting firecrackers. We both called the police, he from the beach and me from home, but after forty minutes he couldn’t wait any longer. The police dispatcher said they were dealing with over 100 phone calls about fireworks!!

Edited Note – Mayor Sefatia writes that the police were at GHB last night, but they also had to be at many, many other places as well. “We are lucky there were no fires or serious injuries and that the Plovers survived.”

And in trying to see the humor in a very challenging situation, she adds, our GHB PiPls must be Sicilian Plovers because they have such a high tolerance for screaming and loud noises 🙂
The threatened species roped off area was lined with the boxes of spent fireworks that you see in the photos above and below. What are these things?? I’ve been piling them up for trash removal but I wonder if it is even safe to handle.

What are solutions for next Fourth of July weekend if we have another late nest? Duncan had a great idea; perhaps hire a private police officer, or an off duty officer, to stay near PiPl home base on the nights of July 3rd and 4th.

Shelby is starting back to work on Monday. Thank you so very much Shelby, you were terrific and we so appreciate your help. Best, best wishes, starting back to work.

Little Chick thermoregulating on a chilly morning

Let’s keep our hopes up our little family makes it through the rest of the holiday weekend.

xxKim

HAPPY FOURTH! AND OUR LITTLE CHICK AND DAD SURVIVED DYNAMITE AND FIREWORKS

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It’s the Wild West at Good Harbor Beach in the evening, even more so this year with coronavirus. Last night we heard an explosion so loud I didn’t believe it was fireworks. This morning at the entrance to the footbridge there was evidence of fireworks but I don’t know if this is what caused that extraordinary boom.

As are many wild and domesticated animals, Piping Plovers are extremely frightened by fireworks and I was just praying both would still be in their protected area. To make matters worse, there were remains of fireworks surrounding their home base area.

Gratefully so, both Dad and Little Chick were present and just fine. The pair made a beeline for the Creek as soon as they heard the raking machine. Our PiPls have caught a tiny bit of a break with the overcast Fourth of July weather, hopefully cloudy skies will continue throughout the weekend.

Do you think someone actually carted the lifeguard chair down to the Beach Club or did the tide carry it?

OUR LITTLE CHICK IS TEN DAYS OLD!

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Good Morning PiPl Friends,

Today marks another milestone, ten days old. After today, we begin to think of chicks as two weeks old, three weeks, old, etc. Thank you to Everyone for your watchful eyes and kind interest!

Yes, Duncan, if the tracks you saw were down by the water, it was our GHB Red Fox. I think it was the Dad (the Mom is much skinnier, from nursing and scavenging food for the kits). He was bringing a rabbit breakfast to the kits.

Sally – such a joy to see when they stretch and try to “flap” their tiny wing buds <3

The cooler weather this weekend is a tremendous break for the PiPls. Last night I stopped by and people are partying much later on the beach on weeknights than in previous years, surely because of coronavirus and a lack of jobs. I picked up six empty full-sized whiskey bottles, three were in the roped off area, and fifty plus beer cans that had been buried in the sand. That smell of stale beer at 6 in the morning is so Gross!

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) Good Harbor Beach

Thank you Deb for the Monarch sighting report. The milkweed is in full bloom in the dunes–perfect timing for the Monarchs to begin arriving. I have a friend who is so worried she hasn’t seen any in her garden. I’ve been telling her they usually arrive around July 4th, in a normal year. She will be thrilled when I share your sighting.

Thank you PiPl Ambassadors!
Happy July 3rd.
xxKim

Ten to eleven day old chick