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Hooray for day thirty-four Little Chick!
Tag: Good Harbor Beach
WORK PROGRESSING ON THE SHOWER AT GOOD HARBOR BEACH FOOTBRIDGE
John Trupiano and Nick Fletcher
At daybreak–ready to pour the concrete for the shower and bases for two benches.
The concrete had been poured by noon. Mark Cole stated that the shower is similar to the one at Stage Fort Park. Peastone will be placed around the cement bases, along with some landscaping. My sincere hope is that native plants only will be planted. We don’t want non-natives such as daylilies and hosta planted where they can easily spread into the marsh. Seaside goldenrod is an example of a native pollinator plant that would blend beautifully with the surrounding area. We have an abundance of it at the HarborWalk Butterfly Garden that are ready to divide so the plantings wouldn’t have to cost the city a single penny!
The work at the footbridge will be completed within the next week or so.
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Rise up
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SUPER HIGH TIDES AND LITTLE CHICK IN SLO MO
Arriving at the beach at 5:30 this morning, Little Chick and Papa Plover were found quickly, both feeding in the the intertidal zone, and both doing beautifully, despite the previous day’s cold, wet, and windy weather.
What first caught my attention though was the fact that the high tide line was up to the edge of the dunes, so high that if a similar super high tide had happened in June, the PiPl nest would have been flooded. Are we experiencing a King Tide I wonder? I have been filming daily at GHB since April and have not previously seen the high water mark quite so high this season. Meteorologists reading this post, please let us know what you think. Google wasn’t much help. Thank you!
The seaweed deposited from last night’s tide shows that the high tide was up to the edge of the dunes in some areas.
With the tide so high, Papa and the chick were not feeding in the wrack line, no insects I imagine. We’ve all seen short little flights, but no sustained flights as of yet. I am not surprised as this coincides with what was recorded last summer filming Plovers.
Yesterday morning and today were too wet and drizzly to use the good cameras, especially my new (and this time, insured) lens, but I did have my cell phone with. The first shows Little Chick running in average speed, not the top speed in which he is capable. The second, in slo mo. He really is the cutest, a small little bird with a big huge personality 🙂
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HAPPY ONE-MONTH-OLD BIRTHDAY MILESTONE TO OUR PIPING PLOVER LITTLE CHICK!
A simply glorious Good Harbor Beach morning on this weekend’s one-month-old Piping Plover milestone! Hatched on the morning of June 22nd, he is officially thirty-one-days old today.
Yesterday morning at daybreak it was warm and windless, and today, very chilly and windy. The chick’s foraging and resting habits reflected the weather. During the warmer morning he spent a great deal of time at the water’s edge feeding hungrily.
Today he was chilled and, within the roped off sanctuary, he tried several times to nestle under Papa. It looked super silly because Little Chick is nearly as big as Papa Plover. Papa rebuffed him and Little Chick found a clump of vegetation to warm under.
Little Chick on the left, looking not so little. Papa standing on one leg to conserve heat.
Papa Plover is an outstanding dad, never too far away, and always keeping a protective eye on Little Chick.
Folks are asking, where is Mama? With some Plovers, the female will leave the family to begin the southward migration, departing earlier than the male and fledglings. The GHB Mama has not been seen in over a week. This was not the case with the PiPl family that I filmed last year; they maintained a family bond through the end of the summer.
The Piping Plovers that migrate along the Atlantic Coast winter primarily from North Carolina to Florida, as well as the Bahamas and West Indies.
A sighting of Little Chick flying about ten feet across the beach has been reported!
Thirty-day-old Piping Plover Chick
Thirty-one-day old Piping Plover
Good Harbor Beach weekend sunrises
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Good Harbor Beach volleyball players assist the piping plovers and
it’s not the first time! Love these stories. #sharetheshore
From Hazel, piping plover volunteer: I was round the bend (!) replacing signs a little later – one of the volleyball players said he had escorted both of them to the creek. I have been turning people back from playa del plover & maybe 1/2 hr ago a small boy spotted an adult as he (the boy) was leaving.
Dave (whisperer) and Bill
link to Gloucester Plover on twitter: https://twitter.com/Glostaplover
link to Google docs Volunteer log
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High tide line from New Moon makes it easy to see dog tracks on Good Harbor Beach despite
No dogs — leash or no leash– rules for the beaches May 1 – October 1 in Gloucester
I stepped on a plastic bag of dog poop buried in the sand over by the footbridge this morning. It’s a drag. I can grab that plastic bottle litter (not so much really after such a busy day yesterday) The poop, not my thing to pick up…
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LITTLE CHICK LEARNING TO FLY AND OTHER SCARY HAPPENINGS
Day twenty-nine, or I suppose we could say four weeks and one day, and our Little Chick is growing gangbusters!
It’s always a relief to see our one surviving Piping Plover chick at first light.
Foraging in the seaweed at daybreak.
Little Chick seemed a little less independent today and spent a good amount of time with Papa Plover. I wonder if something frightened the Plovers?
Chief McCarthy, who now takes his morning run at Good Harbor Beach, has noticed tracks from folks that are still walking their dogs in and around (and through) the sanctuary. Not to disparage dog owners (I love dogs), a drunk guy also insisted on walking through the sanctuary. A super, super scary thing happened this morning where a small group had gathered around the enclosure. Two Great Blue Herons came flying low and slow over the roped off area, where both baby and Papa were resting. A conservationist told me awhile back to try to discourage folks from gathering round near the Plovers because it could alert predatory birds. I didn’t quite believe it, but after seeing the GBHerons flying so low, and seemingly fearless of the humans, I believe it now. Great Blue Herons are super predators and although their primary food is fish, they eat practically every small living creature, including birds, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, shrimp, crab, insects, and rodents.
Staying close to Papa Plover this morning.
Hmm, I think I’ll give flying another whirl.
Running to take off.
Hop Up?
Airborne for half a moment!
Landing, with a not-so-graceful skidding thud.
In the Pink
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GOOD HARBOR BEACH MAGICAL MORNING SUNRISE, FOGBOW, LAUGHING GULL, AND HOW VOLUNTEER PAUL SAVED LITTLE CHICK’S LIFE
Captivatingly beautiful was this morning’s ever-changing light as the rising sun was greeted by waves of fog.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWursnWlN0V/
A fogbow mysteriously appeared and lasted for a good while.
Our Little Chick was nearly impossible to spot on his twenty-seventh day during the early shift and I was super happy to see the sun reappearing when Paul arrived at 8am.
Yesterday morning Little Chick had an extremely close encounter with the beach rake. He’s learned how to crouch and flatten low into the sand when people or predators are approaching. The thing is, yesterday he hunkered down in the path of the oncoming beach rake. Paul had to stop the driver to allow our chick to escape. I think this is an excellent example of why, for the time being, we still need monitors for a bit longer. Thank you Paul for being so attentive.
Camouflaged!
A Laughing Gull arrived briefly on the scene and stayed just long enough to catch a crustacean. Laughing Gulls eat baby birds too, so we’ll be keeping a watchful eye on this fellow.
Blue Shutters Inn with Fogbow
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Gloucester beaches in the Boston Globe | Officer Al D’Angelo, Jack Doyle, Bob Ryan, & Heidi Dallin SHINE!
Ways to beat the traffic and work around MBTA closures– Bob Ryan (General Manager Cape Ann Transportation Authority) and Heidi Dallin (Gloucester Stage and so much more) are such incredible Gloucester–and greater Cape Ann– ambassadors.
Enjoyable read-
Boston Globe article by Hattie Bernstein “Heading to the Beach this Weekend? Here’s Some Parking Tips”
CATA Stage Fort Park trolley shuttle Park N Ride
Gloucester Harbor Water Shuttle and lighthouse tours
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“Parking lot line for Good Harbor Beach is twenty deep” Please share your piping plover sightings! #Glostaplover
“Going to be a busy day,” says Ruth who just left a piping plover watch. Are you going to Good Harbor Beach? Let us know if you see the piping plovers. Feel free to clap off some gulls or crows getting too close, and share what you saw and the time. Add #Glostaplover and we can find it.
When Ruth left, they were by the creek. They could be anywhere–they move around throughout the day and night. For the most part they range a big area roughly by entrance 3 and wrapping way back around the creek end of Good Harbor Beach (rather than the Salt Island side)
Don’t miss Kim Smith’s photographs from yesterday PLOVER PATROL UPDATE FROM DAY TWENTY SIX!
https://twitter.com/glostaplover
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GRATEFUL SHOUT OUT TO GLOUCESTER POLICE CHIEF JOHN MCCARTHY AND ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER DIANNE CORLISS
Thanks so much to Chief McCarthy and Dianne Corliss for their continued help with monitoring Good Harbor Beach. We so appreciate your interest in seeing to the survival of our Little Chick. We can’t thank you enough!
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SHOUT OUT TO PATTI- GOOD HARBOR BEACH #1 VOLUNTEER TRASH-PICKER-UPPER
Patti is at Good Harbor early, nearly every single morning collecting trash and debris found on the beach. She also lives in sunny southern California and has some great ideas about trash removal on beaches. More on that to come. In the mean time, if you see Patty on the beach please stop and thank her and or lend a hand.
THANK YOU PATTI!
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PIPING PLOVER PATROL UPDATE FROM DAY TWENTY SIX!
Good Morning from the Good Harbor Beach Piping Plover patrol brigade! Today we were joined by Gloucester Chief of Police John McCarthy and animal control officer Dianne Corliss. Thank you to both for their continued help in monitoring the dog owner situation. They got to see our Little Chick and parents and it was awesome!
Day by day we see our Little Chick developing new skills. Today he stood on one leg while resting, just as do adult Piping Plovers. When birds stand on one leg, it is a way to conserve heat and energy. For the second day in a row, Little Chick has not needed his parents to regulate his body temperature. He now takes naps on his own in the sand.
Papa Plover and Little Chick standing on one leg.
Napping in the sand.
Regarding flying, there is misinformation circulating about the chicks flying ability. As of this morning, July 18th, our chick has only been seen by the PIPl monitors doing a run-hop-low-airborne thing for a distance of about five to six feet, not fifty to sixty feet. It’s important to clarify so folks don’t think that the chick can easily fly away from an approaching beach goer or four legged creature.
Twenty-six-day-old Piping Plover spreading its wings
Compare the size of the wings of the fifteen-day-old PiPl to the wings of the twenty-six day old chick.
What will happen to the chick after it becomes a fledgling and can sustain flight? From observing and filming nesting PiPl last year, one family that I can attest to stayed together as a unit, in the area of their nest, well into August, until joined at the end of the summer by more PiPl adults and fledglings. The answer is not easily predicted, but it is going to be exciting to learn as much as we can. One thing is certain is that the chick is not yet ready to make the long migration southward and must remain in this region to grow strong and fat. The fledglings that I filmed last year were so tubby by the end of the summer, you wouldn’t believe that they could fly at all!
Always a tasty morsel to be found in the dried seaweed on an unraked beach.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The last several mornings I have been covering my usual 5:00 to 6:30am time plus the Ryan/King shift, from 6:30 to 8am, when super volunteer Paul Korn arrives (he’s very punctual). We need volunteer monitors this week to cover that 7:00 to 8am shift and several other times as well. If you would like to volunteer, please email Gloucester’s conservation agent Ken Whittaker at: kwhittaker@gloucester-ma.gov. Thank you!
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CATS AND DOGS AND BIRDS ON THE BEACH: A DEADLY COMBINATION
Thank you to Good Morning Gloucester reader Dave Moore, who is stationed in Korea and sent this brochure published by the USFWS. Dogs are not allowed at USFWS sanctuaries such as Parker River National Wildlife Refuge all year round, leashed or unleashed and this brochure explains just one of the reasons why. Thanks to Dave for sharing the following PDF.
Cats and Dogs and Birds on the Beach: A Deadly Combination
A tale of cat or dog versus bird may make an enjoyable cartoon, but the real-life version is deadly serious. When birds encounter cats and dogs, the birds rarely win. Many people believe that cats and dogs should be allowed to roam free. People introduced domesticated cats and dogs to this country, and however much we may appreciate them as part of our lives, those animals are not native wildlife or part of a naturally functioning ecosystem. Along the Atlantic coast, cats and dogs pose a serious threat to the continued survival of beach-nesting birds such as piping plovers, least terns and American oystercatchers.
Two months of living on the edge Piping plovers are vulnerable to wild and domestic animals as well as human interference while they guard their nests on sandy beaches for a month before eggs hatch. Plovers blend with their surroundings, so it can be difficult for you to see them. Adult plovers will stagger and feign a broken wing to distract predators from their nests and chicks. Unfortunately, the plover ploy backfires when they face predators more nimble than predators in their native environment. The plover may be caught and killed or injured.
After plover eggs hatch, the tiny chicks spend most of the next month foraging for the food needed to gain weight and develop flight feathers. The flightless chicks face myriad challenges and are simply no match for an agile cat or dog that instinctively sees the chick as something to hunt or chase. With the plovers’ low population numbers, each tiny chick embodies a precious hope for future recovery of the species.
An unfair fight Cats are natural hunters, and even wellfed cats chase and kill birds. Beach-dwelling birds are not adapted to co-exist with cats. Each year in this country, hundreds of millions of birds meet death in the claws of cats. Cats kill roughly 39 million birds annually in Wisconsin alone, according to a 1996 study. Many dogs are naturally inclined to hunt birds after generations of breeding for that purpose. Unleashed dogs chase birds, destroy nests and kill chicks. Plovers are so difficult to see on beaches that it is extremely easy to miss seeing a bird that your dog is chasing. Even when they are on leashes, dogs can frighten and kill birds. In a 1993 study, researchers found that the mere presence of pets disturbs piping plovers far more than human presence. While we cannot tell birds where we want them to nest, we can control cats and dogs.
Protecting our environment We not only have an obligation to protect birds as an important part of our environment, it is the law. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service placed Atlantic coast piping plovers on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in 1986 with a “threatened” designation, meaning that without care the species could face extinction. The plover future is so tenuous that for more than 20 years, people from local, state and federal agencies along with dozens of private organizations have provided intensive protection for the birds. They have spent countless hours managing predators and posting nesting areas to protect birds from pedestrians and off-road vehicles. By 2005, the piping plover population had grown to more than 1,400 pairs. However, protection is neccesary for the species’ survival because threats, including those from cats and dogs, remain.
Monitoring nests and protecting habitat are only part of the piping plover protection story. Plovers need everyone’s help, and vigilant pet owners play an essential role. We need to take advantage of every means to prevent plover deaths if we are to ensure the survival of this bird.
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CELEBRATING DAY TWENTY FIVE WITH OUR PIPING PLOVER CHICK, AND WHAT’S WITH THE PENCIL NECK LOOK?
Flapping, hopping, jumping, preening–everything but flying yet with his gorgeous growing wings. Soon little chick, soon!
Little Chick Morning Preen
Papa Plover Piping Commands
Our chick is developing excellent communication skills. Papa Plover commanded him to stay low and still while several crows eating garbage invaded the enclosure. Perfectly camouflaged, he did just that, and for approximately fifteen minutes.
More Pencil Neck Poses
Kicking It Up!
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THANK YOU JOE LUCIDO!
Huge shout out to Joe Lucido, Mike Hale, and the entire crew that make up the departments of public works and services for the City of Gloucester. Please thank these gentlemen next time you see them. Hard working guys that they are, they have added plover helpers to their long list of responsibilities, and all have lent a hand in helping Gloucester’s Piping Plovers succeed.
Joe heard about the dog owner trouble yesterday and stopped by early, early this morning to help monitor the situation, as well as check on the new weekend trash barrels.
Thanks so much to Joe and Mike and their crews for all that they are doing to help keep our city looking its best, mostly for people, but their efforts tremendously help the Plovers, too.
I took this snapshot of the trash barrels late yesterday afternoon, Sunday, after one of the busiest beach days of the summer. No trash spilling out! So far so good with the updated Carry In/Carry Out-Trash Barrel Plan.
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Update: DPW barrels at beach paths, construction by the Good Harbor Beach footbridge, and the creek is OPEN
CONSTRUCTION BY THE FOOT BRIDGE
Gloucester Department of Public Works (DPW) is clearing out and revamping a little overgrown corner by the scenic footbridge. Pretty much everything that was there is returning: the bench, bike racks, sign, and 1 trash barrel. Weeds will be cleared out. The rotting sign is being replaced and relocated by the tree and perpendicular to the road so as to be readable and preserve view shed. DPW is installing a foot wash which has been a request for a number of years, a tiny water tap off the water main and regulated with a meter. The recent “paving was just an overlay to address a series of potholes.” They’re repairing some broken sidewalk panels, too.
DPW TRASH BARRELS AT BEACH PATHS are “pretty much a weekend thing only”
TRASH BARRELS ON THE WEEKENDS – Now you’ll see them
TRASH BARRELS DURING THE WEEK – Now you won’t
There will be pairs of barrels at the beach paths on Gloucester’s two biggest beaches– Good Harbor and Wingaersheek– on weekends as a trial experiment. The barrels will be emptied including a late evening sweep to ensure they’re not left overflowing through the night. It’s a combo option of carry in / carry out with carry in / carry off, because the former works well for most people, not all.
What did DPW find this past weekend?
The barrels were full both days. It was less messy than some of the previous busy weekends. There was lots of dog waste. By morning, they found that there was still trash left in the parking lot which means…
Some beach goers disregard all options: carry in /carry out policy, new blue plastic bags, new barrel pairs at the paths, even a dumpster they walked by behind the concession stand. Oh, and there’s the dog waste despite the No Dog May-October ordinance.
Of course, the litter is not just at beaches. Yes, it detracts from other priorities. DPW is finding trash pretty much everywhere people park (like the boat ramps.) Some people feel that it’s ok to leave behind bags of trash outside where they parked, or next to a full barrel. Gentle reminder from DPW: Pizza to go boxes atop the barrels can block bins that may hold more. Pizza boxes need to be compacted.
prior post Both/And : Carry In Carry Out and new trash barrels at Good Harbor Beach paths
GHB parking lot clean as a whistle after busy weekend
pedestrian bridge? clean as a whistle? not so much and yet so –keeping it positive–the beach was jam packed yesterday!
other: Creek opened Monday (board of health, not DPW)
new testing methods on the horizon
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49…50…51
The count I heard passing the Gloucester High School athletes going strong at summer conditioning… How many jumping push ups do they go up to?
Beautiful effort and gym
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DAY TWENTY FOUR WITH OUR PIPING PLOVER CHICK/ALMOST FLEDGLING AND WHY MORE DOGS???
Beginning early this morning and continuing throughout the day, our Little Chick has almost fledged. He does a tiny run, then sort of hops into the air, flapping his wings for short distances, several feet perhaps. We can’t quite yet call it flying, but he is getting very, very close.
Every little clump of seaweed, dried or fresh, holds the promise of a tasty treat, insect treat that is.
The PiPlover volunteer monitors are amazing. I would like to again thank the following people, the Ryan-King family–Catherine, Cliff, Charles, and George–who divide their morning shift between all four family members, Caroline Haines, Hazel Hewitt, Paul Korn, Chris Martin, Diana Peck, Lucy Merrill-Hills, Cristina Hildebrand, Carol Ferrant, Jeanine Harris, Ruth Peron, Karen Shah, Annie Spike, and conservation agent Ken Whittaker.
Morning Wing Stretches ~ We hope you can fly soon Little Chick!
Papa on the job and in full on protective mode this morning.
We are pleading with folks to please, please keep your dogs off Good Harbor Beach. This morning I observed a dog owner purposefully and actively encourage his dog to chase Papa Plover. The owner had one of those retractable leashes and over and over again gave the dog more leash and encouragement to go after Papa. I stood between the dog, owner, and Papa with Little Chick on the other side in hopes of keeping him safe. As the owner and pooch came closer and closer, I tried to wave them away but they kept coming. Meanwhile Papa Plover was having a complete meltdown, employing every plover distraction trick imaginable. When I tried to speak with the man he cut me right off and barked that his was a SERVICE DOG and that service dogs are allowed. I again tried to explain but he was having none of it and said that if his dog caught the Plover, he wouldn’t hurt him.
Even if that were true, which it is not, I think the scofflaw dog owners are missing a huge point. To the PiPl, any four legged creature is a threat. It is very unlikely that the Piping Plover parent can ascertain the difference between a coyote, fox, or dog. I hope the following explanation helps people who don’t quite get it, better understand what all the fuss is about.
Your cute pooch is trotting down the beach. Even from a distance of several hundred feet away, your activity messages a ten alarm fire bell in the PiPl brain. The PiPl parent has no idea that your dog is the sweetest and most harmless dog that ever lived. Instead of staying nearby to where the chick is foraging or resting, the adult immediately goes on the defense, racing down the beach, flying after the dog/coyote/fox creature, alternating between dive bombing you and your dog and limping along the beach, pretending he has a broken wing.
Meanwhile, back where the chick is foraging, the crafty crows and ravenous gulls sense the golden opportunity they have been awaiting. Crows/Gulls don’t like the nasty defensive bites and pecks the adult Plovers inflict upon them when they get to close to the chicks, especially when tag teamed by both parents. But now there is no Plover parent anywhere within hundreds of feet of the baby because they are too busy defending the chick from the sweetest dog that ever lived. Time to swoop in and carry off the pleasingly plump chick, ripe for a wonderfully satisfying Gull/Crow breakfast.
A Tender, Tasty Plumpling
Shortly after the dog owner/service dog departed, and just as Catherine was arriving to take over my shift, coming from the footbridge end was an elderly woman and her adorable husky puppy. They were were walking the beach at the high tide mark, exactly where the chick was feeding. Simultaneously, coming from the private end of the beach were a Mom and her son, and their beautiful golden retriever. After a good deal of explaining to both parties, they all turned and headed toward the direction from where they had come and away from the boardwalk #3 area.
Three dogs in the span of twenty minutes.
Catherine’s photo of me approaching Golden Retriever family.
Please don’t write and tell us to call animal control at 6:00am. We have called and left messages, but their shifts do not begin until later in the morning. I think if we are serious about controlling the dog owner problem on Good Harbor Beach, possibly we could hire a part time person to ticket early in the morning and after the lifeguards leave in the late day. The tickets collected would easily pay the cost, and then some. It wouldn’t be long until the word got out.
I plan to find out if service dogs are allowed on beaches with shorebirds that are listed as a federally threatened or endangered species. If the dog was really a service dog, and service dogs are permitted, perhaps the owner could choose a different beach. And too, hopefully rentors in the area are letting their renters know that dogs are not allowed on the beach, leashed or unleashed, and at all hours of the day and night during the summer months.
Twenty-four-day-old Piping Plover
Piping Plover chick assuming the crouch defense posture.
“Alright Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my closeup.”
Good Morning Gloucester 