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Missouri River Endangered
Species Information |
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PIPING
PLOVER
 Charadrius
melodus |
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Description
 Appearance
- These small, stocky shorebirds have sand-colored upper bodies, white
undersides, and orange legs. During the breeding season, adults have black
foreheads, black breast bands, and orange bills.
Habitat - Across the Great Plains,
the piping plovers use barren sand and gravel shorelines of both rivers and
lakes.
Reproduction - The female plover lays four eggs in its small, shallow nest lined
with pebbles or broken shells. Both parents care for the eggs and chicks. When
the chicks hatch, they are able to run about and feed themselves within
hours.
Feeding Habits - The plovers eat
insects, invertebrates, and crustaceans.
Range - Piping plovers are
migratory birds. In the spring and summer they breed in northern United States
and Canada. There are three locations where piping plovers nest in North
America: the shores of rivers and lakes in the Northern Great Plains, the
shorelines of the Great Lakes, and along the Atlantic Coast. Their nesting range
has become smaller over the years, especially in the Great Lakes area. In the
fall, plovers migrate south and during the winter the birds settle along the
coast of the Gulf of Mexico or other southern locations. Biologists have a lot
to learn about the lives of piping plovers in their winter range.
 Why
is the Piping Plover Endangered?
Threatened by Habitat Loss or Degradation
- Through the use of dams or other water control structures, humans are able to
raise and lower the water levels of many lakes and rivers of plover inland nest
sites. If too much water is released in the spring the plovers' nests may be
flooded. Too little water over a long period of time causes grasses and other
vegetation to grow on the prime nesting sandbars, making these sites unsuitable
for successful nesting.
Nest Disturbance and Predation -
Piping plovers are very sensitive to the presence of humans. If too much
disturbance causes the parent birds to abandon their nest. People (either on
foot or in a vehicle) using the sandbars and beaches where the birds nest
sometimes accidentally crush eggs or young birds. Dogs and cats often harass and
kill the birds. Other animals, such as fox, gulls, and crows, prey on the young
plovers or eggs.
 What
is Being Done to Prevent Extinction of the Piping Plover?
Listing - The Northern Great Plains
and Atlantic Coast populations were listed as threatened species in 1986. The
Great Lakes population of the piping plover was listed as an endangered species
that same year.
Recovery Plans - The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service has developed recovery plans that describe actions that need to
be taken to help the bird survive and recover. The Army Corps of Engineers has
worked with the(USFWS) on Missouri River flow releases to reduce nest loss due
to flooding.
Research - Several cooperative
research groups have been set up among Federal and State agencies, university
and private research centers, and the Canadian Wildlife Service. Studies are
being conducted to determine where plovers breed and winter, estimate numbers,
and monitor long-term changes in populations.
Habitat Protection - Measures to
protect the bird's habitat are conducted each year, including controlling human
access to nesting areas, nest monitoring and protection, limiting residential
and industrial development, and properly managing water flow. |
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