The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) is an endangered shorebird. They are sand-colored on the back and white below. During the breeding season, adults sport a black forehead band between the eyes and a single black band around the neck.
Wintering piping plovers use a variety of habitats and move among these patches in response to local weather and tidal conditions. They nest exclusively on beaches, especially those with gravel, and have been heavily affected by human activity on the shoreline. Depending on where they breed, they are classified as endangered or threatened.
Piping plover chicks are adorably helpless in a very specific way: they hatch looking like tiny cotton balls on toothpicks, yet within hours they can walk, run, and even feed themselves,
The parents don’t actually bring them food—plover chicks just toddle around pecking for insects on their own while mom and dad stand guard and perform dramatic “injured bird” acts to distract predators. Cute and impressively competent for something that looks like a plush toy.
Adult piping plovers are small, approximately 7 inches (17 centimeters) long with a wingspan of 15 inches (38 centimeters and weigh between 1.4 to 2.3 ounces (40 to 65 grams) They are sandy grayish brown in color and have white underparts. Breeding adults have a distinct single black breast band, which is often incomplete, and a black bar across the forehead. By late summer or early fall, the black bands fade to gray, leg color shift from orange to pale yellow and the orange-and-black bill turns to mostly black. Juveniles seen from July through September look similar to non-breeding adults. Most adults begin a molt into breeding plumage before initiating the northward migration and complete the molt before arriving at breeding sites.
Piping plovers start returning to breeding grounds in early April, followed by courtship and nesting in mid-to-late April. Male plovers create a shallow depression on the ground which both adults line with small pebbles. Incubation lasts 25 to 28 days and is shared between the sexes. Eggs hatch between late May and early June. Their young leave the nest within hours and begin foraging immediately. Fledging occurs 25 to 35 days after hatching. Piping plovers leave breeding grounds as early as mid-July and generally raise one brood a season, but may raise two broods under rare conditions.
For more information about shorebirds, visit:
- https://dnrec.delaware.gov/fish-wildlife/conservation/piping-plovers/
- https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pgc/wildlife/discover-pa-wildlife/piping-plover
Dive into our latest State of the Estuary report to explore featured species and learn how climate, habitat changes, and human impacts are shaping their future.
