Tag Archives: volunteers Piping Plovers

HAPPY ONE WEEK OLD BIRTHDAY FOR OUR PIPING PLOVER CHICKLETS, ALL FOUR!!! – AND VOLUNTEER HELP IS MUCH NEEDED FOR THE COMING FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND

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Good Morning Sleepy Head ~ One Week Old Piping Plover Chick Snuggling Under Dad

Happy Birthday to our Good Harbor Beach Piping Plover chicks! All four have made it to the one week birthday milestone and that is nothing short of a miracle (born Thursday morning, June 22). The volunteers are making a tremendous difference, the trash situation is being managed by the DPW and volunteers, and fewer dog owners are bringing their dogs to the beach. Thank you to everyone for taking such great care. If the PiPl can survive the first two weeks, their chance of survival increases exponentially.

This weekend is not only the fourth of July, but a heat wave is predicted. Volunteers are much needed on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, especially between the hours of 11:30 to 3:30. If you can spare some time and would like to spend an hour at Good Harbor Beach being a Piping Plover ambassador, please email Ken Whittaker at kwhittaker@gloucester-ma.gov.

Our East Gloucester neighborhood kids named the Piping Plover parents Papa Joe and Mama Joy. This year’s chicks hatched during Fiesta and an anonymous reader suggested we name the chicks Me chi, Samiou, Tutti, and Mutti. I kind of love that!

After first snuggling under Dad’s wing, the little seven-day old chick popped up and immediately began to scratch an itch. He scratched so hard that he knocked himself over. Then off he ran pell mell for a yummy breakfast of sand fleas.

Papa Joe making room for one more under his wing.

AWESOME VOLUNTEERS MONITORING THE PIPING PLOVER CHICKS AT GOOD HARBOR BEACH!

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Day six, and all four Good Harbor Beach Piping Plovers are thriving! Their survival is in large part due to the efforts of Ken Whittaker, Dave Rimmer, and a growing assemblage of wonderful volunteers. If you would like to volunteer to take a shift babysitting the PiPl, please email Ken Whittaker at kwhittaker@gloucester-ma-gov. Ken is meeting groups on the beach to explain the protocol. The shifts are brief and it’s great fun to be at GHB as an ambassador for the Plovers while monitoring and answering questions.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV44XOzF3s4/

Catherine Ryan and her sons Charles and George King have the early morning shifts, from 6am to 7:30, and they are splitting it three ways, each taking a half hour. Piping Plover watchers are invited to take notes–here are one of the volunteers, Hazel’s, excellent notes:

“I was there from about 11.30 to 1 pm today June 26..

During that time I only saw one adult at a time, probably about once every 20 minutes, not doing much – preening, sitting on the sand, resting under a bush, moving around relatively slowly. I also saw one baby at a time moving about – except for the last 20 minutes when I saw 2, possibly 3, moving around at the same time (I had lent my binoculars to some interested bystanders so not sure of the number).

I spoke to 2 groups of young people playing with a ball and a frisbee – they were unaware of the plover nest and very agreeable to moving further away. One couple were seated very close to the rope, and also unaware of the plovers.  They said they would watch out for babies coming outside the enclosure, and later had been watching one of the babies moving around inside.

Two other groups were close to the enclosure and already aware. The second group arrived when two or three babies were moving around and excited to see them through binoculars.

I will be back tomorrow from 11 to 1 pm.

Hazel”

Loved reading the King brother’s notes. Great job Charles and George!!

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Five Day-Old Piping Plover Chick Foraging for Insects

While walking through the dunes on boardwalk 3 at Good Harbor on the way to volunteer, or simply to visit the PiPl, notice the Common Milkweed that is in full glorious bloom. You may catch a whiff of its wonderful honey-hay scent. And quite possibly, a Monarch sighting, or two!

Male Monarch Nectaring from Common Mikweed, Good Harbor Beach Dune