At the Connecticut Audubon Society in Milford, CT, the Piping Plovers were some of the most fun birds to photograph.
There are fewer than 9,000 Piping Plovers worldwide and about 6 pairs of them are breeding in Milford, CT. When I went there on May 18, I was told that the spring migration was definitely slowing down but that the plovers were beginning to hatch. The first brood apparently hatched on Friday. Within hours the little ones began foraging for food with their parents nearby. As you will see in the pictures below, they still need their parents for warmth. When the parents call, they come over and crawl under the wings for a quick warm-up session, then off they go again. We spoke with a young man working for the Audubon Society who was concerned that these particular chicks were being permitted to wander further than they should at only 3-4 days old. The parents didn’t seem to have enough control over them.
Once the mother has laid her eggs, the people at the Audubon Society put a protective cage around it but when they hatch the chicks leave the enclosure right away in order to find their own food. Danger lurks everywhere for them. They are so tiny that a person could easily step on them without realizing it. They blend in completely with the little stones and shells on the beach. And of course they are easy pickin’s for a hungry bird. Walking along the beach, I almost stepped on one of the adults!
Below are pictures of an adult still brooding and, from the first clutch which I was able to photograph, there was a 4th egg that never hatched.
Pictures of the little guys running all around looking for food and learning what it feels like to be alive!
When they were called by an adult, they all ran over but she only seemed to have room under her wings for two chicks at a time. In some of these pictures you might have to look hard to find the chick! They are only about the size of a cotton ball.
Finally the last little one got to climb in for a couple of minutes by itself.
With so few Piping Plovers in the world, it feels really important to protect the breeding pairs and their offspring! I hope you have enjoyed seeing such cuteness! But in case this wasn’t enough for you, here is the little adult that I almost stepped on – such great camouflage for these tiny creatures.
