The Piping Plover

Photo Richard Kizminski/USFWS

The Piping Plover is a small light brown bird and white bird with a characteristic piping call. It breeds on the Atlantic Coast of North America from Newfoundland to Northern Carolina. It is now a rare bird this is largely due to increased development and recreational use of beaches. Only around 1400 pairs of this lovely little bird are thought to now exist.

The Piping Plover's breeding season starts in Late March or Early April when a pair starts to build a nest on the high part of the chose beach area. Four eggs are usually laid which hatch in around 25 days.

The young birds are able to follow their parents soon after hatching and join them in eating small invertebrates that they find in the sand. They are remarkably well camouflaged and will sit still on the sand if a predator approaches.