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The Piping Plover in Eastern Canada
What is a Piping Plover?
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 The Piping Plover is a sand-coloured, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches. The adult has yellow-orange legs, a black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black ring around the neck. It runs in short starts and stops. When still, the
Piping Plover blends extremely well with open, sandy beach habitats. The bird’s name is derived from its call notes, plaintive bell-like whistles which are often heard before the birds are seen.
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In Eastern Canada, the Piping Plover is only found on coastal beaches. This bird is often confused with similar plovers that are much more abundant. The Semipalmated Plover sometimes occurs in similar habitat
and around inland lakes. It has a darker back, and a more pronounced black band on the forehead and around the neck.
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Another plover relative, the Killdeer, occurs rarely on beaches. Killdeer are common in
open areas like fields, parking lots, and school yards. They are slightly smaller than a pigeon
and have two rings around their neck. Young killdeer can be similar in size to Piping Plover,
and also have only one ring. Listen for their ‘killdeer’ call. |
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