Piping Plover
Charadrius melodus
Also known as: Belted Piping Plover
About This Species
Piping Plovers nest directly on open sand and pebble beaches, where their pale, sand-coloured plumage makes them surprisingly hard to spot until they run and stop in short bursts. Look and listen for a soft, whistled peep-lo call along Atlantic coast beaches, Great Lakes shorelines and northern prairie wetlands. The breeding season from spring through mid-summer is when adults are on the beach defending nests and chicks, though care is needed not to disturb them at this time.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- This species is listed as globally Near Threatened and is legally protected as threatened or endangered in the United States and Canada, with nesting beaches often fenced and posted during the breeding season; always stay outside posted symbolic fencing and on wet sand below the tide line where marked.
- Keep well back from any adult showing agitation or alarm-calling, since this usually means a nest or chicks are nearby and the bird is being drawn away from them.
- Dogs should be kept off nesting beaches and leashed elsewhere, as loose dogs are one of the leading causes of nest failure for this species.
NTAvesCharadriiformesCharadriidae
Seasonal Activity
295,861 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Charadriidae
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.