Four Piping Plover Chicks Are Now Banded! By Tom Fishburn

On the morning of Thursday, July 15th, specially trained staff from the Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team, under the direction of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, came to Maumee Bay State Park to band the four 14-day old chicks. Assisted by Black Swamp Bird Observatory staff the banding process was completed efficiently in less than twenty minutes.

Four Piping Plover Chicks Are Now Banded!
By Tom Fishburn

Here is an update on Ohio’s growing and thriving Piping Plover chicks.  

Nellie & Nish, Ohio’s first Piping Plover parents in 80 years, hatched their brood on July 1st after near four weeks of incubation. Although the chicks were soon able to walk around and feed themselves they still required the care of their parents. Along with providing protection from potential predators, the parents would take turns brooding the chicks to keep them warm. Naturally, over the next two weeks the chicks became more active as they grew.

On the morning of Thursday, July 15th, specially trained staff from the Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team, under the direction of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, came to Maumee Bay State Park to band the four 14-day old chicks. Assisted by Black Swamp Bird Observatory staff the banding process was completed efficiently in less than twenty minutes.  It took ten minutes to round-up and capture the chicks, and eight minutes more to band and release them. The process included weighing the chicks and were said to be above average. I and others suspect their “chunky” weight may be attributable to the abundant availability of midges and mayflies on the beach.

Each bird received a USGS metal band, an orange band which all Great Lakes Piping Plovers get, and a violet band. The third band is called a “brood-marker combination” which every family gets. The violet color is the same as Nish’s band.  The individual chicks are identified by different colored dots on the orange band. And the four were given names selected to honor the history of Indigenous people of Ohio.

• Erie was given a green dot.
• Ottawa was given a blue dot.
• Maumee was given a yellow dot.
• Kickapoo was given a red dot.

I arrived in the afternoon and had the opportunity to photograph the plovers before and after my scheduled shift as a monitor. During my time there two of the chicks wandered around more than the others. I was only able to identify Kickapoo and Erie when those came closer.  The others tended to stay further away from the permitted viewing areas.

The mom Nellie was absent and from what I understand has only been seen infrequently.  Aunt Bertie, Nellie’s sister, was present on the adjacent section of the beach in the evening. Although Nish would often chase her away, he did not do so during the couple hours I was there.

Piping Plover chicks are expected to fledge at about 23 days.  Another week or two after that, as they practice and improve their flight skills, they will soon start their journey south. Most of the Great Lakes population of Piping Plovers are spotted over the winter along South Carolina and Georgia coastal shores, and the west coast of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. We will be anxiously waiting to hear whenever any of our Ohio family is spotted over the fall and winter months.

---

Above: Piping Plover 24 day old chick on July 25, 2021 by David Lewis.

Great Lakes Piping Plover Team and Project Overview 
By Stephanie Schubel

Please see our website for details on the Great Lakes Piping Plover Team and Project. It lists all the agencies involved and great information about all the work the project does, like monitoring, banding, captive rearing, research, and education.
​
Questions and Answers: 

• Is the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is responsible for the overall PIPL recovery efforts? Yes, is the short answer. The recovery effort is organized and coordinated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies. The USFWS Great Lakes Piping Plover Coordinator is the main person who makes the final call on important decisions related to the plovers recovery efforts. They are also the agency that distributes the funds from the GLRI (Great Lakes Restoration Initiative) which is the main source of funding for the Great Lakes Piping Plover Project. And at the end of the breeding season, the final report on the Great Lakes Piping Plovers numbers written by our UMN team is sent to the USFWS.

 

• Who and where is the organization that is responsible specifically for the Great Lakes recovery program? The team is coordinated by The USFWS, Jillian Farkas is the Great Lakes Piping Plover Coordinator, she is based out of the East Lansing, MI Field office. https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eastlansing/contactus.html  But, it consists of many agencies, non-governmental organizations, educational facilities and dedicated individuals. So please do check out the website, I would list them all here but I would not want to miss any of the important groups involved.

​

• Where do you and your colleague, Sarah Saunders, work out of?  I work for the University of Minnesota banding and research team, my boss is Dr. Francie Cuthbert, who started the banding and research efforts back in the 80's when the piping plovers were listed as endangered. I'm based at the University of Michigan Biological Station, which is where our captive rearing center is located. Sarah Saunders is a Quantitative Ecologist for National Audubon Society. She received her Doctorate from UMN under Dr. Francie Cuthbert and thus worked on the UMN field team from 2011 - 2014. She is still on our banding permit and thus helps our banding crew several times a season with banding the plover chicks.

​

• How many banding teams assist in the Great Lakes recovery program? The University of Minnesota sponsors the banding efforts for the Great Lakes Piping Plovers. Directed by Dr. Francie Cuthbert, the crew's main task is to band all adults and chicks every summer. Our UMN banding crew is the main team. I'm the head bander and travel all over MI, IL, WI and now OH to band Great Lakes Piping Plover adults and chicks.  Alice Van Zoeren, is the other main bander on our team who helps us band at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore where a majority of our plovers nest. Then there are 4 other people in various states/provinces who help band Great Lakes Piping Plovers,  in NY Dr. Jonathan Cohen of SUNY; in PA Cathy Haffner of PA Fish and Game; on the Apostle Islands, Sumner Matteson of WI DNR; and in Ontario, Andrea Gress of Birds Canada.

 

• How many nests have been identified in 2021? We have had a total of 78 nests and 74 pairs this season.

​

• How many chicks have been banded in 2021? We have banded a total of 152 wild chicks. 

​

• How many chicks are left yet to be banded in 2021? There are no wild chicks left to band in 2021! We banded the last 5 chicks this past week. Four were the Chicago chicks and the last one was at Silver Lake State Park in MI.

I hope this is helpful! Let me know if you need anything else. And remember please check out the website Great Lakes Piping Plover Team and Project!  Thanks so much for all you do to help the Ohio Piping Plovers! Keep up the great work! 

---

Make A Donation to Western Cuyahoga Audubon. Your gifts guarantee chapter activities, programs and research continues to reach members and connect birding conservationists around the world. Use our safe and secure PayPal payment button below to make a donation of any amount you choose. All donations are gratefully received.

---