The plover

The plover is a short-billed shorebird that has been a cherished inspiration in the arts from all over the globe for centuries. Unfortunately, plovers now also symbolize the conflict between the natural world and coastal land use and development, their numbers dwindling dangerously as a direct consequence of human interference.

Protecting plovers

Help protect the threatened plovers, and all species in danger of becoming extinct, by being watchful in your interactions with nature. Understand how the destruction of habitat and the human role in it leads to loss of plant and animal diversity.

• Plovers living along the Great Lakes and the Pacific and Atlantic coasts are endangered due to recreational and commercial development and dune stabilization along the shorelines. In the Great Plains, damning and channelization of rivers have also eliminated sandbar nesting habitat.
• Plovers nest between the months of March and September, digging shallow depressions in open areas of dry sand, often on the upper beach close to the dunes or in other shoreline habitats. Their eggs are difficult to spot, so limit your use of dry sand areas, walking on wet sand instead. Leash your pets or leave them at home (cats and dogs disturb nesting plovers even more than human presence), and always pick up your trash, which can attract predators like skunks, raccoons and gulls.
• Recreational pressure and pedestrian and vehicular traffic can seriously affect breeding success. In the past 40 years, the number of vehicles and people on beaches has increased significantly. The traffic can crush eggs and chicks, or leave them trapped and vulnerable.