Nesting, Nesting…123!

It took half an hour of scurrying around her South Beach “scrape” for this piping plover to finally settle down, because five killdeer were being pesty. There was a bit of territorial “drama”, before she returned to her—hopefully—clutch of eggs.

A piping plover pair returned to Fishers Island in early April. By early May the female was nesting on her “scrape” in the Sanctuary of Sands area of South Beach. Sandy-colored feathers help her to disappear into the background, particularly important since piping plovers are a “threatened” species.

There are fewer than 2000 pairs of piping plovers on the Atlantic Coast. Support our precious wildlife. Kindly continue to leash all dogs.

Sanctuary of Sands, West End, Fishers Island.

From the Field, Field Note, Justine Kibbe, May 7, 2019