Piping Plover activity at Whitefish Point continues without a hitch as I patiently wait for June 23.

Vie on shore. Photo by Stephanie Owens

Each day, I check on the nest and watch for an incubation exchange between Vie and Little Bill Bob to make sure each is present and fulfilling their duties. Once June 23 (the expected hatch date of the eggs) arrives, I will watch closely in anticipation of the sight of the first chick.

Every day, I walk the beach, checking to see if Wybie and Lover Boy are still around and if any new plovers have shown up. The two bachelors are still here and continue to in vain to attract a mate.

I thought surely that Really Tricky had settled down in another location, but I saw him briefly during the past two days. On Thursday, he was trying to win Vie’s affection, with Wybie hanging in the distance. On Friday, he was caught up in a three-way territory dispute between Wybie and Bob, eventually being shooed away.

During this waiting time, I find myself taking joy in the little nuances of behavior among our birds. I’ll spend time with the singles, looking to see if I’m missing any plovers who might show. Lover Boy scurries around the exclosed area east of the boardwalk entrance, foraging and taking breaks to rest. I watched him eat a relatively large ant one day and a small worm another.

Common Raven on driftwood. Photo by Stephanie Owens

One day a Semipalmated Plover was on the shore near the nest, as Vie was foraging. I observed as she slowly made her way to the bird. Once near it she stopped for a moment, and then lunged at the plover, startling it into flying away.

A pair of ravens have been lurking around the nest at times, causing me anxiety. Sometimes, a plover from our pair will be within striking distance, but no predation has occurred.

~ Stephanie Owens
2024 Piping Plover Monitor

Featured photo: Little Bill Bob foraging on shore. Photo by Stephanie Owens

Piping Plover monitoring is a collaborative effort between Michigan Audubon and Seney National Wildlife Refuge (USFWS).

You can keep up with the 2024 Piping Plover action at WPBO by reading Stephanie’s blog posts and following WPBO’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, and X).

Stephanie Owens: 2024 Piping Plover Monitor

Stephanie is a native Yooper and a recent graduate of Lake Superior State University. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Conservation Biology and completed her senior thesis on the distribution of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in waterways in Eastern Upper Peninsula. Previously, she worked as a Piping Plover monitor in the U.P. for two seasons and conducted Black Tern and habitat surveys during that time as well.