Search Results for: Piping Plover

THANK YOU GOVERNOR BAKER AND THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION FOR PROTECTING PIPING PLOVERS AT DCR BEACHES!

Posted on by Kim Smith

So proud to live in Massachusetts, a state where the lives of threatened and endangered shorebirds that nest along our coastline, birds such as Least Terns, Piping Plovers, and American Oyster Catchers, are considered worth protecting. Despite all that the state government is trying to manage with the pandemic at its very peak, a huge … Continue reading THANK YOU GOVERNOR BAKER AND THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION FOR PROTECTING PIPING PLOVERS AT DCR BEACHES! →

#GLOUCESTERPLOVER ! JOYFUL NEWS TO SHARE – OUR GOOD HARBOR BEACH PIPING PLOVERS HAVE RETURNED

Posted on by Kim Smith

Daily I have been checking and this afternoon we were overjoyed to see two foraging at low tide at Good Harbor Beach. They were super hungry, looking for food non-stop at the sand bar and in the water. The PiPls are three days ahead of last year. Each spring they have been arriving earlier and … Continue reading #GLOUCESTERPLOVER ! JOYFUL NEWS TO SHARE – OUR GOOD HARBOR BEACH PIPING PLOVERS HAVE RETURNED →

WELCOMING BACK GLOUCESTER’S PIPING PLOVERS AND WHY BANDING OUR GOOD HARBOR BEACH NESTING PAIR IS NOT A GOOD IDEA

Posted on by Kim Smith

Hello dear Piping Plover Friends and Partners, As are you, I am looking forward to the return of our Gloucester Plovers. With the relatively mild winter we are experiencing, and the fact they have been arriving earlier and earlier each spring, we could be seeing our tiny shorebird friends in little over a month. About … Continue reading WELCOMING BACK GLOUCESTER’S PIPING PLOVERS AND WHY BANDING OUR GOOD HARBOR BEACH NESTING PAIR IS NOT A GOOD IDEA →

WITH GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION TO GLOUCESTER’S CITY COUNCIL FOR PROTECTING OUR GOOD HARBOR BEACH PIPING PLOVERS!

Posted on by Kim Smith

Last night, the Gloucester City Council voted unanimously to make permanent the ordinance change disallowing dogs on the beach after March 31st. A sunset clause had been added to the ordinance when the ordinance  was passed last April. The sunset clause was expected to expire at the end of this year. The vote keeps in … Continue reading WITH GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION TO GLOUCESTER’S CITY COUNCIL FOR PROTECTING OUR GOOD HARBOR BEACH PIPING PLOVERS! →

THE WONDERFUL MIRACLE AND MESSINESS OF BIRTH – PIPING PLOVER CHICKS HATCHING PART TWO

Posted on by Kim Smith

I stopped by on my way home from work, fully expecting to see all three chicks hatched. Dad was sitting on the nest and two fluffy chicks were zooming in and out. He left the nest for a moment and wonderful luck of luck, the third chick was making its appearance!! When I write messy, … Continue reading THE WONDERFUL MIRACLE AND MESSINESS OF BIRTH – PIPING PLOVER CHICKS HATCHING PART TWO →

THE WONDERFUL MIRACLE AND MESSINESS OF BIRTH – PIPING PLOVER CHICKS HATCHING PART ONE

Posted on by Kim Smith

As many of our readers know, this summer while finishing up with editing my Monarch film, I have also been continuing to document our Good Harbor Beach Piping Plovers. To make the best and most informed documentary, I have also been filming at other north of Boston beach locations. During our last heat wave, we … Continue reading THE WONDERFUL MIRACLE AND MESSINESS OF BIRTH – PIPING PLOVER CHICKS HATCHING PART ONE →

HOW DO NESTING BIRDS SUCH AS PIPING PLOVERS KEEP FROM BOILING THEIR EGGS IN A HEAT WAVE?

Posted on by Kim Smith

During this heat wave I have been concerned about one of the Piping Plover families that I am documenting. They are nesting in an exposed site and it is late in the season. I wondered if their eggs were at risk of becoming overheated. As of Saturday, my worries were for naught. Both the Mom … Continue reading HOW DO NESTING BIRDS SUCH AS PIPING PLOVERS KEEP FROM BOILING THEIR EGGS IN A HEAT WAVE? →

WHY IT IS A TERRIBLE AND POINTLESS IDEA TO DESTROY THE PIPING PLOVER HABITAT AT GOOD HARBOR BEACH

Posted on by Kim Smith

There are several reasons as to why it is vitally important to leave the Piping Plover refuge in place at GHB. PiPl chicks and fledglings are like human babies in that they eat and eat all day and evening, rest, and then resume eating. Their appetites are voracious. Not only are they growing but they … Continue reading WHY IT IS A TERRIBLE AND POINTLESS IDEA TO DESTROY THE PIPING PLOVER HABITAT AT GOOD HARBOR BEACH →

DON’T MESS WITH MAMA (OR PAPA) – YOUR DAILY PIPING PLOVER SMACK DOWN

Posted on by Kim Smith

These beautiful shorebirds, so small you can hold one in the palm of your hand, and so softly hued, they melt into summer shades of driftwood and sand, are actually tough as nails. You would have to be mighty fierce to battle hungry gulls and crows twenty times your size, an ever shrinking habitat, extremes in … Continue reading DON’T MESS WITH MAMA (OR PAPA) – YOUR DAILY PIPING PLOVER SMACK DOWN →

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY PIPING PLOVER UPDATE – MOM RETURNS!

Posted on by Kim Smith

Just a very brief update from my morning 5-7am shift- I was happy to see Mom has returned to looking after the chicks. It’s really a relief because the beach was so crowded today with beach goers, beginning very early this morning. The chicks (all three!) spent the day at the creek with volunteer monitors … Continue reading HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY PIPING PLOVER UPDATE – MOM RETURNS! →

HAPPY THREE-WEEK-OLD BIRTHDAY TO OUR PIPING PLOVER CHICKS, ALL THREE!

Posted on by Kim Smith

On Saturday our Good Harbor Beach PiPl chicks turned three weeks old. They remind me so much of toddlers, with their indefatigable spirits, high energy and great appetites, adventuring, tumbling and bumping themselves throughout the day, flopping their tired selves down and wanting to be cuddled and protected, and then picking themselves up to start … Continue reading HAPPY THREE-WEEK-OLD BIRTHDAY TO OUR PIPING PLOVER CHICKS, ALL THREE! →

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY – BROUGHT TO YOU BY PIPING PLOVER DADS!

Posted on by Kim Smith

Fifteen-day-old Piping Plover chicks Last year I posted a similarly titled post, Happy Father’s Day! Brought to You By Papa Plover,with a photo of Papa PiPl snuggling our one remaining chick, Pip. This year we have a sweet photo from yesterday of our Papa PiPl snuggling all three chicks, not just one chick as was the … Continue reading HAPPY FATHER’S DAY – BROUGHT TO YOU BY PIPING PLOVER DADS! →

OUR GOOD HARBOR BEACH PIPING PLOVER CHICKS ARE TWO WEEKS OLD TODAY!

Posted on by Kim Smith

Two weeks ago today, four tiny Piping Plover chicks hatched at Good Harbor Beach. Nesting got off to a rocky start, with the mated pair first attempting to nest at the beach, then at the parking lot, but then thankfully, returning to their original nest site. The relative peace on the beach, excellent parenting by … Continue reading OUR GOOD HARBOR BEACH PIPING PLOVER CHICKS ARE TWO WEEKS OLD TODAY! →

HAPPY TEN-DAY-OLD BIRTHDAY TO OUR PIPING PLOVER CHICKS!

Posted on by Kim Smith

Today our little chicks, all three, turn ten-days-old. This is a milestone in that their chances of survival are greatly improved when they reach the age of ten-days-old. The family of five spent the morning foraging, mostly in the protected area, and venturing to the shoreline only occasionally. A Mourning Dove made his way through … Continue reading HAPPY TEN-DAY-OLD BIRTHDAY TO OUR PIPING PLOVER CHICKS! →