FYI
Van Harris
Memphis
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Hal Mitchell <halmitchell@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, May 3, 2021 at 10:35 AM
Subject: [missbird] Interesting Story on a Piping Plover
To: Missbird <missbird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Hey Missbird,
A week or so back, Rob Harbin and I were birding at a location just north
of the MS state line affectionately called “The Pits” (in TN). It’s a
wastewater/biosolids facility made birding famous by the late great Jeff
Wilson/Ol’ Coot. We had one of those magical migration days with a few
fantastic birds. One of the more interesting ones was a piping plover.
This particular piping plover was color banded. This means he had a
sequence of bands on his legs that were unique to him and helps observers
identify him at a distance and without needing to recapture him. Ruben
Stoll was able to reach out with the color band sequence and get more
information on this individual. He is a 10 year old male! More
interesting is that he was captive reared due to nest abandonment at his
natal nest in North Manitou Island in Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore in Michigan. His mother was killed by a merlin the day before he
hatched. This fellow has been nesting at Muskegon State Park in recent
years, but wasn’t able to find a mate last year but stayed on territory.
He spends his winters in Texas.
This is incredibly fascinating to me. Piping plover are listed as
threatened and endangered under the endangered species act. His distinct
population segment (Great Lakes) is actually listed as endangered. Thanks
to conservation efforts, wildlife research, and some very good souls this
bird was able to escape near certain death and live a long and productive
life. It’s clear that some conservation groups really do make a huge
difference and the role that they play is only becoming more and more
important. Delta Wind Birds <https://www.deltawindbirds.org/mission> is
*your* local shorebird conservation organization and it’s not too late to
support their Big Day effort here
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdvR7pnVku8XY_8h5MWArNQJgPNIAAtTYU9Ui37vQudVfmnGQ/viewform>.
What they are doing is without doubt benefiting shorebirds directly. How
that relates to me and other birdwatchers is obvious…we have more birds to
see, hear, and appreciate.
Checklist with some photos:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S86287282
Hope all is well,
Hal Mitchell, Certified Wildlife Biologist®
Phone: 409-539-2577
Email: halmitchell@xxxxxxxxx <halmitchell@xxxxxxxxx>
