Tag Archives: #ploverjoyed

Huge Shout Out to the Gloucester High School Gender Equity in STEM Club!!

Leave a reply

Early this week I had the absolute joy of presenting The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay to the Gender Equity in STEM Club at GHS. The students were amazing! The film is an hour long and despite the fact that the program was held after school and after a long day of classes and activities, they were fully engaged and asked many astute questions during the QandA following the screening.  Student advisors to the Club, GHS biology teacher Eric Leigh and coordinator Roseann Vidal are a pleasure to work with. Thank you to the students and advisors for making the screening of The PPOMB a very rewarding experience for this filmmaker!

With deep gratitude to Applied Materials, who, along with the Gloucester Educational Foundation, supports the Gender Equity in STEM Club. The presentation of The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay was also funded by a generous grant from Applied Materials.

To learn more about the Gender Equity in STEM Club, read the following article by Gloucester High student, Ruby McElhenny.

The Gender Equity in STEM Club: Why it matters

Happy Mom’s Day!

1 Reply

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms, Aunties, Grandmoms, Sisters, Friends, and Dads who are Mom’s, too. Thank you for being you <3 Wishing you joy and happiness on this sunniest of Mother’s Day. xoKim

Our Good Harbor Beach footless Super Mom

One of ten clutches of eggs that Super Mom has laid at GHB since she and her mate first arrived in 2016.

In 2021, Super Mom’s right foot became very tightly wound with seaweed and fishing line. The following year, she returned to Good Harbor Beach footless. Yet despite that, her handicap does not prevent her from doing all the usual things Plovers do daily.

Piping Plovers, and many species of shorebirds, have a foot tamping technique, where they rapidly shake their feet in the sand to stir up invertebrates. Also called foot trembling, the action brings invertebrates to the surface where the Plover sees and catches the prey. Watch how Super Mom expertly forages for tiny mollusks and in this case, appears not hindered by her missing foot. Not all is great for our footless Mom, though. Occasionally I see her legs become very tired and she does a series of spazzy movements across the sand, as though she is having some sort of leg cramping going on.

The first clip is in slow motion so that you can see the technique; the second clip is in real time.

 

Piping Plovers Coming to France! Les pluviers siffleurs de Moonlight Bay

Leave a reply

Our Piping Plovers are crossing the Atlantic Ocean! The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay will be featured at the splendid Festival de l’Oiseau et de la Nature on April 18th and 19th.

This annual festival takes place at the Bay of Somme and is not only a film festival but a magnificent celebration of the natural world. There are over 400 guided walks, photo and art exhibits, screenings of the best nature documentaries, activities dedicated to children such as workshops and shows, debates, and conferences.

Our documentary has been translated into French for the exhibition and the festival organizers have created a new trailer, also in French, which you can watch here: https://www.festival-oiseau-nature.com/film/les-pluviers-siffleurs-de-moonlight-bay/

Les pluviers siffleurs de Moonlight Bay

Un film de KIM SMITH 

Ce documentaire raconte l’histoire de pluviers siffleurs, des petits oiseaux menacés. Ses héros sont un couple courageux et leurs turbulents petits.

Elever des poussins de la taille d’un marshmallow sur une plage urbaine très prisée n’est pas de tout repos et la famille doit faire face à de nombreux obstacles. Les pluviers siffleurs sont des indicateurs qui montrent comment humains et faune peuvent cohabiter, en particulier dans le cadre de la réduction de leur habitat. Ces oiseaux très résilients sont bien adaptés à la vie sur la plage, cependant, sans mesures de protection adéquates, ils ne pourront résister à la pression causée par les humains et les prédateurs.

Google Translate

This documentary tells the story of piping plovers, endangered little birds. Its protagonists are a courageous couple and their boisterous young.

Raising marshmallow-sized chicks on a popular urban beach is no easy task, and the family faces many obstacles. Piping Plovers are indicators of how humans and wildlife can coexist, especially in the face of shrinking habitats. These highly resilient birds are well adapted to beach life; however, without adequate protection measures, they will be unable to withstand the pressures caused by humans and predators.

Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay to Air in LA on Tuesday April 15th at 8pm

Leave a reply

See what Los Angeles PBS has to say about our film!

The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay airs Tuesday, April 15 at 8 PM

“Against the ever-changing tides of the Atlantic, a tiny but mighty family fights for survival. The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay follows a devoted pair of these rare shorebirds as they raise their marshmallow-sized chicks on a bustling urban beach. Every day is a test of their resilience—avoiding predators, braving unpredictable weather, and navigating a world where humans and wildlife collide. Will their fragile brood make it to adulthood?

This heartwarming and visually stunning special takes you inside the incredible journey of one of nature’s most determined parents. Witness breathtaking moments of survival and the deep bonds that keep these feathered families together. A story of hope, adaptation, and the delicate balance of our ecosystems.

Tune in for an unforgettable look at one of nature’s most compelling underdog stories. Sometimes, the smallest creatures have the most powerful stories to tell.”

California Friends, please check listings as The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay is airing at your local stations – KCET, KOCE, KVCR, KPJK, KQED, KQEH, KRCB, and KVPT.

California Friends, please check listings as The Piping Plovers of Moonlight bay is airing at the following California stations – KCET, KOCE, KVCR, KPJK, KQED, KQEH, KRCB, and KVPT.

The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay Now Airing Nationwide on PBS!

Leave a reply

Hello PiPl Friends!

Checkout this lovely graphic created for us at American Public Television for our release on PBS!  Beginning today, April 1st, The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay is airing on public television. Please check your local listings for times.

As a Passports member, you can stream the film at anytime. We find our family’s membership to PBS invaluable; the programming is stellar and costs a fraction of any other streaming service, just $5.00 per month. We are members of New Hampshire PBS, which is also one of the 290 stations nationwide airing The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay. Here is the link on how to join: https://nhpbs.org/watchmore/ 

 

Plover Love Story for the Ages #ploverjoyed

1 Reply

Dear Friends,

We have wonderful news to share. Our Gloucester Plovers are returning! Not only that, but the original pair that have been nesting at GHB since 2016 were the first to arrive. Both Mom and Dad appeared on the very same day, March 19th, the earliest date ever.  At this time of year, my husband and I check the beach daily so that we can track from year to year when Plovers begin arriving. Last year I believe it was March 25th.

Super Dad and Handicapped Mom, March 19, 2025

A Plover love story for the ages is how my friend Todd describes it when Plover pairs nest together for many years. These two sweet Plovers must be at a minimum of 11 years old because Plovers don’t begin breeding until they are at least one year old. Eleven years is quite a ripe old age for Plovers as most live on average only five years. We wait with a combination of fear and excitement each spring, hoping and praying our Plover family makes it through another winter, especially now that Mom’s right foot is missing. She lost her foot several years ago after nylon fishing line and seaweed became tightly wound around her lower leg.

When you think about it, we have been through so much with this little Mom and Dad. The first several years especially were extremely challenging. Beachgoers did not yet understand how to help protect the birds and pets had the run of the beach. In fact, conditions were so bad on the beach that in 2018 Mom and Dad decided ‘enough with dog disturbances,’ and the safest place to nest was the GHB parking lot. Because of this, Massachusetts State and US Federal wildlife officials became heavily involved with helping to protect Gloucester Plovers and the local government began to take Plover protections more seriously. Little by little, things began to change for the better.

I remember our tender little handicapped Plover, nicknamed HipHop for his gimpy walk. It was Mom’s first season breeding without her right foot and she was extremely clumsy when transitioning to get in and out of the nest and when she was snuggling the chicks. I think she must have injured HipHop somehow because his injury manifested itself when he was about ten days old. Mother and chick were quite the pair with their hip hopping gaits. We thought HipHop would never grow to the size of his siblings and wondered if he would ever be able to fly. Mom departed early as is not unusual for females to begin migrating before their mates. Our Super Dad stayed with HipHop for many weeks after and throughout the entire summer. Both departed around the beginning of September, but not until HipHop was flying just as well as his siblings.

Dean Horne, Brian Watson, John Trupiano, and Adam Kelley installing Piping Plover protections

Thank you to the Gloucester DPW crew for installing the symbolic ropes and Plover signs. We appreciate everything the DPW does to keep Plovers safe and our local beaches looking beautiful!

If you happen to see Plovers on the beach, please give them lots and lots of space. Know that they are weary from the long migration and need to rest and refuel before ‘setting up house.’

Piping Plovers are returning to beaches all along the Atlantic Coast. The addendum to this note is for several new Plover friends from beaches in Maine and New Jersey who have written to ask how they can better help their community’s Plover families successfully fledge chicks.

Happy Spring from Ploverville!

Warmest wishes,

Kim

Actions that communities and beachgoers can take early in the season to help Plovers successfully breed include the following. I can not stress ‘early in the season’ enough. The earlier the Plovers nest without disturbances, the earlier they will begin laying eggs, and the earlier the chicks will fledge and begin migrating.

1) Disallow all pets on the beach, ideally beginning March 15th, April 1st at the latest.

2) Install symbolic roping around known Plover nesting areas by March 15th.

3) Install informational signage on beaches where Plovers nest by March 15th.

4) Do not permit off-road vehicles on beaches where shorebirds are nesting.

5) Do not rake the beach. Beach raking destroys a vital food source and machines can scoop up and kill chicks that can’t yet fly out of the way of danger.

6) Respect symbolically roped off areas. Do not play ball close to the roping. It is against state and federal law to run into the nesting area to retrieve a ball or for any other reason. Do not allow pets to run through the roped off areas and do not cross the roped off areas to take shortcuts through the dunes.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Leave a reply

Happy Valentine’s Day Friends!

Thank You Plover Friends!

Leave a reply

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!

Leave a reply

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!

Leave a reply

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!

1 Reply

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!

1 Reply

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 l​isted 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

The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay Receives Best Environmental Documentary at the Chicago Women’s Film Festival!

2 Replies

Knowing of Chicagoans great love for the Montrose Bay Piping Plovers Monty and Rose (and their offspring Imani and Nagamo), I applied to several festivals in the Great Lakes region. We are delighted to post that last week The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay was accepted to the Chicago Women Film Festival. I was planning to share that when we just received notice that The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay has been awarded the Best Environmental Film at the CWFF.  In case you have PiPl friends in the area that may be interested in attending, as soon as we know when it is going to screen at the festival, we’ll let you know.

Thank you for this tremendous honor Chicago Women Film Festival! 

We are also very excited to share that we have been nominated to the Montreal Independent Film Festival.

The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay is an official selection and/or award winner at the following festivals:

Boston Film Festival – Eco Film Award
Chicago Women’s Film Festival- Best Environmental Documentary
F3: Queen City Film Festival – Best feature Documentary
Cine Paris Film Festival – Best Family Friendly Film
Boston International Kids Film Festival
Montreal Independent Film Festival
Dumbo Film Festival
San Diego International Kids Film Festival
Berlin Women Cinema Festival
France USA International Film Festival
Toronto International Film festival
Nature Without Borders Film festival
International Motion Picture Awards
Documentaries Without Borders Film Festival
WPRN Women’s International Film Festival
Newburyport Documentary Festival (withdrawn due to scheduling conflict)

Good Harbor Beach Erosion and Piping Plover Update

Leave a reply

Good morning PiPl Friends!

Our PiPl population is returning to GHB! In addition to Super Dad and our footless Super Mom that arrived on March 24th, the male that nested successfully last year and whose mate is the very pale female, has returned, along with two additional males that arrived just after the nor’easter- for a total of five! The morning after the nor’easter also found three Sanderlings and a charming pair of Savannah Sparrows. I think the Sparrows may be sticking around as I saw them again this morning!

Newly arrived Savannah Sparrow

Filming at Good Harbor Beach the day after the nor’easter I felt an odd mix of awe and fear. Awestruck by the atmospheric beauty of the beach in the lifting storm, and also dismayed to see the damage to the dunes and how all the fantastic work the DPW had done in preparing the beach for the coming season had taken a real hit. The tides have been extremely high, I think higher than is usual for these spring storms. Recently, at full high tide, there was no beach. In the past few days the the tides seemed to have receded somewhat and hopefully the shifting sands will continue in that direction.

Sanderlings resting after the nor’easter

The most remarkable thing to see is how the one area that has been roped off consistently for the past eight years, going on nine, that very specific nesting area at #3, has been damaged the least by storms of the past several years. It is a real lesson in dune ecology that when you protect the base of the dune from foot traffic, which allows native flora to take hold, we can give the beach and dunes a fighting chance against rising sea level.

DPW crew at GHB. They are working to restore all that they had done the week prior to the storm.

Update on our PiPl documentary, The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay: We are in the home  stretch and still on track to have a final cut ready by May 1st (please keep your fingers crossed with me!). I gave a wonderful local conservation minded organization a ‘test run’  of the first half of the film and was overjoyed to see they were thoroughly engaged. I am working with the amazing team at Modulus Studios, Eric and Shannon, and we are at the finals stages of finessing, finessing, and more finessing!

March was truly a fantastic month for fundraising. My deepest and most heart felt thanks and gratitude to our wonderful supporters.

Please consider making a tax deductible donation to our online fundraiser here at Network for Good. We are also looking for underwriters. If you know of an organization that would like to be associated with themes of nature, bird biology, shorebird and Piping Plover protections, and conservation of beach habitat, along with receiving the benefits of becoming an underwriter — promotions at both the beginning and end of the film for their organization, each and every time the film airs, please contact me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com. Our sister project, Beauty on the Wing, has aired in PBS stations covering 85 percent of US households and is still continuing to stream on public television. As an underwriter, your organization will have the potential to receive tremendous good will from underwriting The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay!

Returning male, mate of very pale Mom

With gratitude to the following PiPl friends for their kind contributions – Lauren Mercadante (New Hampshire), Sally Jackson (Gloucester), Brace Cove Foundation (Gloucester), JH Foundation/Fifth Third Bank (Ohio), Jane Alexander (New York), 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),and my sweet husband Tom 🙂 

Surfer Salvatore Ruvolo at GHB morning after the storm, with music by Peter Dayton  – “Perfect Wave”

Happy Easter!

1 Reply

The best kind of Peeps – Plover Peeps. Happy Easter, Happy Spring Friends!

Piping Plover chicks one-day-old

PIPING PLOVER PEEPS AT ALEXANDRA’S BREAD!

Leave a reply

Just in for spring, we have a limited edition of Plover PEEP yellow unisex tees and onesies, perfect for your Chicks, big and small!

The T-shirts  are a great length, longer than average, and both the tees and onesies are a beautiful super quality 100 percent cotton.

Question – do you think we should order kids sizes in the tees?  I had one made for Charlotte in pink and i think it’s adorable. Let me know if you are interested in youth sizes.

And, Alexandra has a replenished batch of Cape Ann Piping Plover Project stickers!

All profits from the sale of the tees and stickers goes towards replenishing stock and toward our documentary, The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay, coming soon!

Alexandra’s Bread is located at 265 Main Street, Gloucester. 

Open from 8:30 until 2:00 Wednesday through Saturday

Good Morning Sweet Chick!

Leave a reply

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

Leave a reply

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!

1 Reply

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

Leave a reply

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

 

 

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE SUPER DADS!

Leave a reply

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE WONDERFUL SUPER DAD’S, both human and avian!

My husband Tom is the best Dad you could ever imagine. From Tom, I inherited the best father-in-law, his Dad. My heart is filled with much joy when I see my son Alex with his daughter and know he has inherited their same thoughtful and kind, gentle loving nature. I don’t want to go on about this because I realize not everyone is so blessed and that there are many absentee fathers out there, mine included. Enjoy all the Dads in your life and know you are so very blessed if you are fortunate to know a good one.

The first photo is of a Piping Plover Dad thermosnuggling his three chicks and was taken recently at a beach on the south shore. I think the chicks are about three weeks old in the photo and it reminded me of our Good Harbor Super Dad. We call him Super Dad for a variety of reasons, but one of the most poignant is how he stayed with the handicapped chick for a month beyond the date when HipHop’s siblings had already learned to fly. It took Hip Hop twice as long to manage sustained flight but Super Dad was with him every step of the way. I think this is very unusual in the animal kingdom and is counter intuitive to the survival of the adult.

The second photo is of another species of shorebird that breeds along the New England coast, the Least Tern. Least Tern Dads share equally in brooding eggs.

Unlike Piping Plover chicks, which are precocial birds and can feed themselves within hours after hatching, Least Terns are semi-precocial and need to be fed by the adults. Least Tern Dads share equally in feeding the chicks.

OUR FIRST FULL WEEK WORKING WITH AUDUBON- JUNE 11th PLOVER LOVER WEEKEND UPDATE

Leave a reply

Dear PiPl Friends,

As many of our PiPl followers are aware, this year the City of Gloucester hired Mass Audubon to help manage Cape Ann’s Plover population. We’ve had our first full week of collaborating with Mass Audubon and I have to say it just could not be better for all involved, but most importantly, for the Piping Plovers! The Mass Audubon staff is tremendously professional, kind, friendly, dedicated to wildlife conservation, and very personable. Lyra, who heads the coastal waterbird program for Mass Audubon, and Devon, Gloucester’s assistant conservation agent both have a great deal of experience managing Piping Plovers and are quick to respond to questions and challenges as they arise.

A few changes have been made to the beach. The roped off Plover areas to protect the Plovers has increased, however, there is still loads of space for beachgoers. An added bonus to creating safe spaces for Plovers is that over time, we have seen how the established protected areas for the Plovers has vastly improved the overall health of the beach. Why is that? Because when people and pets aren’t recreating up against the dunes, new vegetation is allowed to take hold including native American Beach Grass (Ammophila breviligulata), American Sea-rocket (Cakile edentula), Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Beach Pea (Lathyrus japonicus) and Seaside Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens). Protecting the dunes is one of the best coastal strategies for combating a warming climate. It’s truly a beautiful thing to see how much healthier are our dunes!

Another change that has taken place are the guidelines in how close we should stand when observing the Plovers. One of the most important ways to help the Plovers is to give them lots and lots of space. If we hover/stand/place camera gear for long periods of time pointing to the Plovers, wildlife biologists working with Mass Audubon have documented that this activity attracts Crows and Gulls! You may ask, “why is that a bad thing?” Crows voraciously eat Plover eggs and hungry seagulls eat Plovers at all stages of development, including eggs, hatchlings, and even 3 week old chicks.

The best way for we beachgoers to help the Plovers is to watch from a distance and not hover near the birds. With a half-way decent lens and a camera sensor with a good crop factor we can get beautiful shots from a safe distance. The City, Mass Audubon, and we Ambassadors are all asking this of the community and we are deeply appreciative of your help.

Piping Plover smackdown – The video is of our handicapped Super Mom. Her disability does not impede her determination nor ability in defending her territory. She is perhaps Good Harbor Beach’s most fierce Plover, despite her missing foot.

Piping Plovers ferociously defend their nesting territory from intruders of every shape and size; puffing up their feathers to appear larger, chasing, and even biting the offender. Here she is in early spring defending her little slice of Good Harbor Beach from Scruffy Boy’s shenanigans!

 

 

 

PIPING PLOVER JUNE 4th UPDATE

Leave a reply

Dear PiPl Friends,

Many have written looking for a PiPl update and I just want to assure everyone that the PiPls have so far managed to survive the high tides and very unseasonably cold temperatures. The tides are predicted to be very high this week so we’ll just keep our hopes up we won’t have a wash out.

A first ever for me this morning; I checked on the Plovers wearing a wooly winter weight sweater, heavy coat, and thick socks. The temperature was 45 degrees on the beach!

Super Mom foot pattering

Super Mom is doing especially beautifully. Plovers do a sort of “foot pattering” when foraging. The behavior is also called “foot-trembling” or “foot-tapping.” They shake their foot in the sand, then cock their heads as though listening. The vibrations caused by the foot pattering helps to bring worms and mollusks closer to the surface. The prey is usually a few inches away from where they are pattering, but sometimes as much as a foot away, nonetheless, the PiPl runs to the potential prey, plunges their beak into the sand, and almost always surfaces with some kind of invertebrate.

This seems like such an important behavior for the Plovers to enable them to successfully forage. I wondered if Mom would still shake her leg with her missing foot. Last week I observed Mom foot pattering! She doesn’t alternate feet, as is typical, but uses only her footless right leg to patter and stir up the sand. Her ability to adapt her behaviors to survive her handicap is extraordinary!

Super Dad napping (on a warmer day this past week)

 

 

 

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY, PIPL UPDATE, AND HAPPY 98TH BIRTHDAY TO MY FATHER-IN-LAW CORNELIUS HAUCK!

Leave a reply

Dear PiPl Friends,

We returned last night from Ohio where we were celebrating Memorial Day and my father-in-law, Cornelius Hauck’s, 98th birthday. He is the most charming and kindest person; funny, witty, wry, full of wonderful stories, brilliant, and generous are just a few of the adjectives that describe him. I am writing this to you because he shared several secrets to his longevity. Stay active mentally and physically (PT every morning and walking every day) and a cold shower every morning! That last part was news to all of us 🙂 He didn’t mention this, but I am adding that he only retired when he was about 85 years old! He also eats well-balanced meals and has a bourbon (or two) everyday. We all just wish he didn’t live so far from Gloucester.

Grandpa shared a story about his service in WWII. When he first enlisted, he was rejected because he is well over six feet tall, but only weighed 140 pounds. As the War progressed and the Army needed more troops, they allowed him to serve but not in the usual capacity. He has had a lifelong interest in trains and because he was familiar with all the train lines running across the country, he was put in charge of scheduling soldiers traveling on leave.

My father-in-laws’ interest in trains only grew over the years and in his spare time, he went on to write and publish many photographs, books, and articles about trains, and to co-found the Colorado Railroad Museum, located in Golden, Colorado.

PiPl update –

This morning found Mom peacefully guarding her eggs on the nest and Dad foraging along the water’s edge. I was there early and the DPW hadn’t yet been to clean up the beach. We are so grateful to the DPW for the job that they do, but the crew would not have to be stuck with so much litter/trash/garbage if we enforced our litter laws. Also, dismayed to see remnants of several bonfires. I didn’t make it all the way down the beach; it’s lovely out now but this morning was very windy.

DPW’s beautiful new GHB boardwalk