Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)

Abstract

IdentificationThe piping plover is a small shorebird with a black neck band and a black bar across the forehead. The upperparts are light sandy-brown and the underparts are white, providing the plover with camouflage against sandy beach backgrounds. The legs are bright orange and, in breeding plumage, the bill is also orange with a black tip. Although males and females are similar in appearance, males typically have darker, more extensive neck bands. The call of the piping plover is a ventriloquist-like peep-lo which is hard to pinpoint before the bird itself is sighted which is often heard before the bird is seen.Juvenile and winter-plumage adults are similar in appearance. Both lack the black neck and forehead bands characteristic of breeding adults. Rather, there is a pale band around the neck. The bill is solid black and the legs are pale yellow.Piping plovers may be confused with other shorebird species. The killdeer (C. vociferus), a larger plover of open uplands, has rich brown upperparts and two black neck bands. In both size and pattern, semipalmated plovers (C. semipalmatus) are similar to piping plovers but are much darker brown on the upperwing, back, and head. The sanderling (Calidris alba), which frequently feeds at coastal beaches along the water's edge, lacks neck bands and has a longer, black bill and a broad, white wing bar that is visible in flight. HabitatPiping plovers inhabit oceanfront beaches and barrier islands, typically nesting on the stretch of beach between the dunes and the high-tide line. Nests are often located in flat areas with shell fragments and sparse vegetation. The coloration of piping plovers and their eggs blend in remarkably with sand and broken pieces of shell. Sparse vegetation, such as American beach grass (Ammophila breviligulata) or sea rocket (Cakile endentula ), is favored, as it provides cover against predators and the elements. However, areas with dense vegetation, such as dunes, are avoided by nesting plovers, since these sites provide cover for predators.During the nonbreeding season, piping plovers inhabit coastal beaches, barrier islands, inlets, sandflats, mudflats, and dredged material islands. Piping plovers forage on ©Chris Davidson

Demographic response of Piping Plovers suggests that engineered habitat restoration is no match for natural riverine processes

“…On the Missouri River, Piping Plovers nest on riverine sandbars on open, sparsely vegetated sand or gravel substrate with adjacent saturated or moist substrate for foraging and brood rearing (Elliott-Smith andHaig 2004, Catlin et al 2015). In part due to a decrease in breeding habitat, Piping Plovers were placed on the U.S.…”

Impact perceptions and acceptance capacity toward Piping Plovers Charadrius melodusamong visitors on a public beach in Nebraska, USA

“…Piping Plovers occur along the Atlantic Coast, Great Lakes, and Great Plains of North America (Elliott-Smith & Haig 2004). Piping Plovers routinely nest in anthropogenic environments including public beaches (Elliott-Smith & Haig 2004, Brown et al 2010.…”

“…Piping Plovers occur along the Atlantic Coast, Great Lakes, and Great Plains of North America (Elliott-Smith & Haig 2004). Piping Plovers routinely nest in anthropogenic environments including public beaches (Elliott-Smith & Haig 2004, Brown et al 2010. They typically lay four eggs in shallow, cup-shaped nests in the sand, incubate the eggs for approximately four weeks, and attend to the precocial chicks for approximately four weeks (Elliott-Smith & Haig 2004).…”

“…Piping Plovers routinely nest in anthropogenic environments including public beaches (Elliott-Smith & Haig 2004, Brown et al 2010. They typically lay four eggs in shallow, cup-shaped nests in the sand, incubate the eggs for approximately four weeks, and attend to the precocial chicks for approximately four weeks (Elliott-Smith & Haig 2004). We hypothesize that impact perceptions, attitudes, and ultimately acceptance capacity towards protecting Piping Plovers will be affected by the frequency and type of recreational activities in which visitors engage.…”

Accidental Egg Removal by Incubating Piping Plovers

“…data). The nest cup is formed by the adult as a depression in the substrate and is typically lined with small, thin, light-colored pebbles 2-10 mm in diameter (Cairns 1982, Elliott-Smith andHaig 2004). A clutch of four eggs is common for the first nesting attempt; replacement nests may include one to three eggs.…”