The Piping Plover

Imagine a beach.  What do you see?  Sand?  Obviously. A scattering of shells? Perhaps.  An endangered bird... maybe not so much.  But that's part of the problem.  We don't look for or expect anything at the beach other than sun and fun.  Perhaps that's been part of the problem.  We don't expect nature to be on our back door or in our parks or on our beaches.  Real Nature, the kind Hobbes describes or the kind we see on National Geographic, seems to be far away or locked in the deep forests of the inner continental wilderness.

Sadly not true.  Along the Beaches and coastlines of the Eastern US there is an endangered bird that needs your help.  The Piping Plover.  You can do some simple things to help:

1. Don't leave any trash on the beach.  Trash attracts a larger than normal number of gulls and gulls can eat the Piping Plover. 
2. You can not play or quiet the music you bring to the beach.  This scares the Piping Plover from eating and if it can't eat, it can't survive.
3. Don't ignore warnings about breeding areas on the beach.  Disturbing sensitive breeding areas can lead to abandoned nests.
4. Go out and look for the birds!  Seeing them in their habitat can lead to a great appreciation of the bird, its part in the ecosystem, and the beach itself.  The Beach, not just for tanning anymore!

(C) Me

2013 Year List: 121

Piping Plover

Eastern Towhee

Yellow Warbler

Northern Gannet

Glossy Ibis