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Order: Ciconiiformes Family: Charadriidae Chick Type: Precocial (Only need parental attendance) Piping Plovers are found in south central Canada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and along the Atlantic coast in New England. They winter along the the coastline from North Carolina to south Texas. There are two subspecies of Piping Plovers. Their diet consists of marine crustaceans, mollusks, worms and insects. Piping Plovers lay 4 cream colored egg with that has small black spots on them on beaches. Eggs takes around 27-31 days to hatch. Parents attend to the chicks by brooding them when needed and guiding them to food sources. The chicks will fledge in alittle over a month. This species is listed as endangered by USFWS (download the Recovery Plan here). Piping Plovers are the poster bird for keeping cars, cats and dogs off beaches. Naturalist Jim Stevenson has protected this species on the beaches of Galvestion, Texas by shooting feral cats. The Blair Society advocate people keeping their cats indoors. On the controversal topic of what to do with unwanted feral cats; the society feels that the trade of 100 bird lives to 1 cat life is a fair trade. Click here if you don't believe cats kill wildlife. Subspecies of Piping Plovers:
Please report sightings of banded piping plovers to: |
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