martinzoo

Yesterday, while we were walking on the beach we kept coming across these adorable groups of birds. I swear, they looked like they were body surfing in the ocean. They would ride the wave out to sea, then they would peck at the exposed sand for insects. Then as the wave geared up to come back to shore they would rush back to the beach with short, quick, perky steps to get into position and do it again. We were SO enchanted. I have been to the beach many times and never seen birds like these.

This morning I did a little research to find out what they were. And I found out that they are called Piping Plovers. And very important, they are endangered. I felt privileged to have been able to watch them. Once again the animal world suffers for human encroachment. It makes me sad to read about so many animals losing their habitat so that we can take over more and more of the land.

My video is sadly unspectacular, but you can hear the excitement in my Mom’s voice as we were watching these little birds. Looking through the camera screen, I couldn’t see anything, so I was hoping I got a better video. Alas, this was all I got.

This is what they sound like. Click here.

The piping plover is a small, stocky, sandy-colored bird resembling a sandpiper. The adult has yellow-orange legs, a black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black ring around the base of its neck. Like other plovers, it runs in short starts and stops. When still, the piping plover blends into the pale background of open, sandy habitat on outer beaches where it feeds and nests. The bird’s name derives from its call notes, plaintive bell-like whistles which are often heard before the birds are seen.

The piping plover breeds on coastal beaches from Newfoundland and southeastern Quebec to North Carolina. These birds winter primarily on the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to Florida, although some migrate to the Bahamas and West Indies.