Field Notes

Sunburning away again in Ploveritaville. The captive-reared chicks in their carrier. Photo by Stephanie Owens On Monday, July 15, three captive-reared Piping Plover chicks were released at Whitefish Point. They were salvaged as eggs from Sleeping Bear Dunes because their father went missing, which left the incubating duties solely to the mother. Once [...]

Baby is a Bob! On Sunday, July 7, Baby was banded. His code is X,B/O/B:O,B (I say that he is a Bob because of the triple split Blue/Orange/Blue band). The number 270 appears on his blue band, and a green dot appears on the orange band just above. These are his chick bands, and [...]

The last chick lives! "Baby" on June 29. Photo by Stephanie Owens After last week's turbulence, I'm happy to report our plover family is alive and well. My days are now occupied with watching Vie and Little Bill Bob care for their chick. I've been calling the chick "Baby" in reference to [...]

Merlin sitting in the tree line. Photo by Stephanie Owens On Sunday, I walked onto the beach with hope and excitement. I wasn’t sure if the eggs would hatch that day, but I knew that they would come sometime soon. Almost as if a bad omen, a Merlin sat perched at the [...]

By the time you read this, four little Piping Plover chicks may be taking their first steps on the shore of Whitefish Point. With their hatch date right around the corner, June 23, I watch in anticipation and preparation. Piping Plover chicks are described as small cotton balls on two toothpicks, so naturally, I [...]

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 [...]

Monitoring this week consisted of the usual suspects. Lover Boy spends most of his time east of the boardwalk entrance. Wybie hangs out just west of it. The popular foraging area is directly between either territory, with Little Bill Bob in the mix, causing skirmishes amongst all the males. Vie and Bob continue to [...]

Things are moving along pleasantly for our pair here at Whitefish Point. Little Bill Bob on the nest in the new mid-sized exclosure. Photo by Stephanie Owens As of Tuesday, May 28, four eggs have been laid in the nest. On Wednesday the nest received an upgrade from a mini exclosure to [...]

Life has been moving slowly at Whitefish Point for the Piping Plovers, but that’s nothing to complain about. That was how I intended to start this update until Friday afternoon. My days would start with observing lonely males like Of,YB:X,Y/O and Lover Boy foraging about, making scrapes, and calling for a mate. In the [...]

The Great Lakes Piping Plovers are starting to return to Whitefish Point. The first three days of my surveying painted the picture of a bachelor’s paradise. X,-:O,- aka Lover Boy. Photo by Stephanie Owens Males like ((X,-:O,-) (Green dot)) have seemingly determined their territory, and spend the days scraping and parallel walking [...]