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Tag Archives: Super Dad
Nova Scotian Guest Plover at Good Harbor Beach!
A Bluenoser at Good Harbor Beach – the fascinating world of shorebirds!
At this time of year, we Gloucester Plover Ambassadors are at Good Harbor Beach (trying) to keep track of the comings and goings of the Plovers. Some birds are arriving to set up house while others are passing through on their way to their summer nesting homes. Last week while out on Plover patrol, Super Dad was spotted, along with a sweet pair that we’re fairly certain is a mated pair from last summer, and a new little friend. It wasn’t until I returned home and began looking at the footage that I noticed that this unfamiliar one was banded!
Finding a banded bird at Good Harbor Beach is pretty exciting because instead of wondering where the bird came from, you can learn from just looking at the tag . Several years ago Good Harbor Beach was a stopover for a Plover with a green tag and white letters, which indicated that it was banded by Virginia Tech. He had flown from the southern coast of Georgia to Gloucester in just under five days!
As you can see in the photo, N5’s band is white with a black alphanumeric code, which indicates he was banded in Canada. A quick Google search led to several contacts where to report Canadian banded birds and we sure hit the jackpot of information from these kind wildlife biologists, Dr. Cheri Gratto-Trevor and Hilary Mann.
People are always asking us Ambassadors, where do the birds go after departing GHB in August? The following is not a complete picture, but does provide a tiny widow into the flight pattern of one of these remarkable little travelers.
Cheri writes, “White flag N5 was banded as an adult in June 2024 at Sandy Bay, in southern Nova Scotia. The bird was seen in Fall (Aug) 2024 at Sunset Beach, Tubbs Inlet, NC.”
Hilary writes the following, ” In 2024, we put a nanotag on N5. This is a small radio transmitter that helps us track birds, when they fly close to a station that is part of the motus wildlife tracking network. We got a track of N5, which you can see below. The dashed lines show the ‘direct flight’, and if this is no line connecting dots as the plover moved south, it just shows that they may have stopped somewhere along the way. N5 crossed from southern Nova Scotia to Cape Cod in about 10 hours, on the night of August 6, 2024. By August 10, it was down in North Carolina. We do not have any detections past August 10, but there are fewer stations to detect the tags south of North Carolina. The tag is glued on, so it falls off in the winter when the battery dies, and we do not have tracks of its Northbound movements.”
Think about that – In 2024, N5 flew from Nova Scotia to North Carolina in four and half days! After first departing Sandy Bay, N5 flew nonstop to Cape Cod, when it appears he was next tracked at either a Rhode Island or Connecticut beach, across the sound on to Montauk, at the eastern end of Long Island, then a non-stop flight to Cape May, which is also an important holdover location for Monarchs waiting for the ideal wind to carry them over the mouth of the Delaware Bay. He is next hitting locations at Virginia beaches and North Carolina’s Outer Banks before arriving at Sunset Beach, which is just south of Ocean Isle at the southern point of North Carolina.
And in 2025, N5 returned to Sandy Bay, Nova Scotia and successfully fledged two chicks!
Our deepest thanks and appreciation to Dr. Cheri Gratto-Trevor, research scientist emeritus with Environment and Climate Change Canada and to Hilary Mann, wildlife biologist with Canadian Wildlife Service.
I pulled this map off Google to show what a direct flight it is for Plovers flying from Cape Ann to southern Nova Scotia.
Nova Scotia Piping Plover N5 in the foreground. The film clip is in 10 times slow motion so you can see the band placed on the upper right tibia.
Read more about banded Piping Plovers seen at Cape Ann beaches here –
FUN 411 UPDATE ON ETM, THE CUMBERLAND ISLAND BANDED PLOVER
Many, many thanks to Gloucester Daily Times reporter Bobby Grady and editor-in-chief Andrea Holbrook for the Times‘s continued coverage of our Gloucester Plovers. The story appeared in Thursday’s Times with a gentle reminder to give the Plovers lots of space as they are establishing their nesting territories.
The coverage the Times has provided since the Plovers first arrived back in 2016 has been invaluable in helping to create an awareness about these very vulnerable, yet valiant, threatened shorebirds. Thank you again Andrea, Bobby, and the GDTimes!
Happy Spring,
xxKim
PiPl N5 at time of banding provided by Hilary Mann
Shout Out To Bobby Grady, Andrea Holbrook, and the Gloucester Daily Times for Plover Coverage!
Many, many thanks to Gloucester Daily Times reporter Bobby Grady and editor-in-chief Andrea Holbrook for the Times continued coverage of our Gloucester Plovers. The story appeared in today’s Times with a gentle reminder to give the Plovers lots of space as they are establishing their nesting territories.
The coverage the Times has provided since the Plovers first arrived back in 2016 has been invaluable in helping to create an awareness about these very vulnerable, yet valiant, threatened shorebirds. Thank you again Andrea, Bobby, and the GDTimes!
Happy Easter, Happy Spring!
Dear Friends,
I hope so much you are doing well. Spring weather hasn’t quite sprung here in our region, nonetheless we know warmer days are just around the bend. I haven’t been writing lately, managing health hurdles but they are manageable and things are looking better.
The wonderful good news is that Piping Plovers have been returning to their breeding grounds all along the Great Lakes and Atlantic Coast nesting locations and ours are no exception. The first PiPl arrived on March 26th, one of our females from last year, and Super Original Dad has returned for the ELEVENTH year to nest at Good Harbor Beach. He only landed several days ago and is wiped out from the migration. Super Dad is staying close to his territory and seems to be waiting patiently. Waiting I think for the return of his love, handicapped Super Mom. It will be nothing short of a miracle if she returns, too, as maneuvering with a missing foot takes a great deal more energy. The average lifespan of a Piping Plover is 3 to 5 years. Our Original pair is at least 12 years old and has far exceeded that statistic. Despite the fact that Plover pairs may winter over in two entirely different locations, last year Mom and Dad returned on exactly the same day, March 19th.
Super Dad March 2026
Plovers typically arrive at their northern breeding grounds needing plenty of R and R so if you see them on the beach, please give them lots and lots of space. If they pipe in your direction, you know you are too close. A gentle reminder to all our beach friends – the earlier Plovers can court and mate undisturbed on the beach, the earlier they begin laying eggs, and the sooner the chicks will have fledged. Although Good Harbor Beach is now closed to pets for the season, Wingaersheek is open until May 1st, and Crab Beach, which is downtown adjacent to the dog park, is open all year round
Hats off to our incredibly hard working DPW Crew. Thank you to this great group of guys for placing the symbolic roping and threatened species signs up prior to April 1st. And thank you to the DPW Crew for taking such care and pride of our City beaches.
More good news for Plovers is that we are again partnering with Mass Audubon to watch over the Plovers. The Audubon team of young biologists are some of the most conscientious and caring individuals you will meet and we are so delighted to learn from, and work with, Mass Audubon. If you would like to be a Piping Plover ambassador this summer, please contact me. We would love to have you!
Happy Easter, Happy Spring!
xxKim
A short video of our newly arrived and very loveable, sleepy Super Dad –
Beaches Ravaged by Late May Nor’easter
Dear PiPl Friends,
First the bad news – our Super Mom and Dad’s nest was washed away during Thursday’s nor’easter. We are very sad about this especially as chick hatching was imminent.
Our Original Pair have never before lost a nest because of a storm however, several years ago, a pair at GHB did lose their nest due to wash out as it was in a very unsafe place, smack dab in the middle of the beach. That pair successfully renested.
We are much more fortunate than some beaches. Our Plover ambassador friends at Hull lost a total of 25 nests and the high tides have destroyed miles of their symbolic shorebird protections.
Super Mom and Dad after the nor’easter
Fierce Dad catching breakfast after the storm
For the good news – Piping Plovers often renest, especially when this early in the season. One pair was documented renesting a total of seven times in one season. And it appears as though Super Mom and Dad are preparing to do just that. After a day of looking lost and forlorn, Dad is making scrapes in the sand and calling to Mom. Producing a new batch of eggs is very taxing for the female and our Super Mom is already very vulnerable due to her loss of one foot. A gentle reminder that when you see Plovers on the beach, please give them lots of space to forage, and hopefully, make new eggs.
Despite the extremely high storm tide going all the way to the base of the dunes, Good Harbor Beach survived the storm fairly well and looks better after this nor’easter than any nor’easter that I can recall. Why you may wonder? As a direct result of the symbolically roped off areas in place for the Plovers, beachgoers and pets are restricted from recreating right up to the base of the dunes. This has allowed native vegetation to take hold, and in some areas, to thrive. This vegetation, such as beach grass and Sea Rocket, holds the sand in place and is our very best defense against rising sea level and the ravaging effects of the highest of tides and gale force winds.
The photos tell the story best
Compare the above photos from storm damage in 2018 and how the dunes look in 2024. Note how far back is the dune, the sheer drop off, and complete lack of vegetation. I recall a time when people were so very worried about how much beach we were losing each year to severe storm damage. That is no longer the case!
Click on the above photos from 2018 to enlarge and get a sense of how much the beach has filled in and how much healthier are the dunes. 
Good Harbor Beach 2021, 2024, and 2025 – vegetation gradually taking hold and the sand is filling in.
A plethora of Atlantic Surf Clams tossed ashore by the sea
What are these peculiar mounds dotting the beach after the nor’easter? The photos are included to show how much the sand shifted during the storm and how vegetation helps keep sand in place
Soooo much seaweed at Brace Cove! The insects attracted to the drying seaweed is fantastic for wildlife, but get ready for super smelliness!
Happy Memorial Day Weekend,
xxKim
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE SUPER DADS!
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.