According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service press release, three piping plover chicks in Illinois have made history.
They were in the first nest that has been found in Illinois, where the birds are listed as endangered, in 30 years.
And, after the adults abandoned the nest, the four eggs were placed in incubators at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.
Three of the eggs hatched, and the chicks were released into the wild on Aug. 7.
It?s an interesting idea, isn?t it? Scoop up the eggs from the nest and get them to fledging artificially.
This has not been a good year for piping plovers on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, where they are federally listed as threatened.
Nine pairs of birds established nine nests. Three of the nests were lost. Nineteen eggs hatched from the remaining nests, and 13 of those chicks were lost ? mostly to predation. Six piping plover chicks fledged ? one fewer than last year.
Certainly the chicks were not lost to ORV use or human disturbance. The consent decree requires a buffer of 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) around piping plover chicks. That is more than .6 tenths of mile in all directions.
Although several hundred animals were killed last year by the National Park Service, the predators still manage to get to the chicks.
Maybe moving them off the beach and incubating the eggs isn?t such a bad idea.
Of course, that won?t solve the problem of loss of habitat for the piping plovers.
But loss of habitat in the seashore has been less about development by humans than it has about changing National Park Service policies.
The plovers? favorite place to nest on Hatteras ? at Cape Point ? has been allowed by park management to become totally overgrown by vegetation. What was once a nice, flat beach from the Point to the Salt Pond in now totally covered with small dunes and grasses, which drives the plovers closer to the ocean shoreline to nest on a flat beach.
This vegetation also allows cover for the many predators of the chicks ? foxes, feral cats, raccoons, opossums.
So why has that been allowed to happen? Why has the Park Service done nothing to change it?
Many people have asked this question, but none of us has received a good answer.
Anyway, here is an interesting tidbit in the effort to save the piping plover.
It is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service media release.
Endangered Piping Plover Chicks Make History
Three chicks are from first Illinois nest in 30 years
Three tiny chicks, rescued before hatching from the first piping plover nest found in Illinois in 30 years, were released Aug. 7, 2009, at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan, representing new hope for the recovery of this endangered shorebird.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources confirmed that a pair of piping plovers constructed a nest and tended four eggs this summer on a remote stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline in northern Illinois. This is the first piping plover nest found in Illinois since 1979.
After the adults apparently abandoned the nest due possibly to either predation or human disturbance, the eggs were rescued and placed in incubators at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Three chicks hatched and were transported to a rearing facility at the University of Michigan Biological Station at Pellston, where they were cared for until ready to be released.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Northern Michigan, administered by the National Park Service, was selected as the release site because it is relatively close to the captive rearing facility and because other plovers are still present. If possible, birds are released at locations where they can intermingle with other piping plovers before heading south.
State and federal wildlife managers credited contributions from a number of cooperators for the milestone in piping plover recovery.
?This milestone is a direct result of strong partnerships,? said Kristopher Lah, endangered species biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ?Each of the partners brought a spirit of cooperation and willingness to overcome obstacles ? and that?s the key to success for any endangered species recovery program.?
The nest was discovered through periodic surveys conducted by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources; the DNR also led the effort to monitor the nest. The breeding pair of plovers was found by IDNR Wildlife Biologist Scott Garrow, who said, ?finding the breeding pair of piping plovers in Illinois is one of the true highlights of my 30-year career.?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided support for nest monitoring and protection. Johns Manville, which owns property near the nesting site, gave biologists access to the beach to monitor the nest; and the Lake County Health Department provided water quality tests. Illinois Beach State Park site staff provided logistical support. Lincoln Park Zoo, the Detroit Zoological Society, and the University of Michigan provided hatching and rearing facilities and expertise.
The Great Lakes population of the piping plover was listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 1986. These birds nest along some of the most popular beaches in the Great Lakes and have been making a slow recovery. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports a total of more than 70 breeding pairs in the Great Lakes this season, the largest pair total since listing.
For more information on recovery efforts for the piping plover, visit the Service?s Midwest Region website at www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered
If only it was about the birds, we might have a chance to balance protection and recreation.
The real target is the public. It starts with a recreational area, created for average people, who don?t have the resources to lay out big money for access to public lands.
I used to feel like I was the problem, cause I need a vehicle to access the seashore. It is clear now that the end game of the ?Gang Of Three? is the removal of humans from the seashore.
We will be left with access for those of us who can afford to rent houses with easy beach access. The gang has been very forgiving of access in front of the villages, as long as it stops there, no matter how dangerous it may be to the birds and turtles.
Now that the gang has gotten rid of the dread ORV, the violation reports are full of such things as pedestrian footprints, walking below the the high tide line. A couple was observed shelling, sets of footprints were discovered being curious about a turtle nest.
No damage was done but you should not have been there.
?First they came for the communists? is as true today as it always was.
I remember a couple, in Audobon hats and T shirts, who were surprised that they were not allowed to access the beach.
?But we are not driving on the beach?. How come we can?t walk there?
Welcome to what used to be Cape Hatteras National Recreational Seashore, the 1st of it?s kind.
Humans need not apply for admittance.
John is right to a point, but don?t forget the gang of three want to fleece their constituants and the american government through pleas for money from their non-knowning followers and their lawsuits against the government who fall over and plead forgivingness.
This was an interesting story and yes, a great idea to help the piping plover get off the endangered species list. Again, as I have stated in previous articles I have commented on, we as human?s should not interfere with mother nature but in some cases it helps, like in this situation. While monitoring the nests, it should be considered if the birds are in any pertinent danger and if so then the eggs should be taken and incubated to assure a safe fledging. This would cut down on the risk of the nests and eggs being invaded by preditors, both human and animal. Also it would cut down on the senseless killings of the ?natural predators.? There are so many simple solutions to correct and change the laws that have been put in place to protect these bird?s and at the same time infringe on our right?s as ORV users. Another key point to make is the beach erosion. My father has pictures of Hatteras from the early 1950s to the present day and there is a substanial difference in how much beach there was back then compared to now. I?m 34 and my first trip to the island was when I was 2, so 1977, and though my memory of that first trip is fuzzy, I can remember how far the beach stretched to the ocean. We have always stayed at the Outer Banks Motel in Buxton and before that it was the old motel that used to be next door which was leveled by a hurricane. It seems like every year the length of the beach to the water?s edge gets smaller, this again is caused by mother nature. In the spring the waves come all the way up to the deck and there are sandbags exposed everywhere. Then returning in the mid-summer and fall the beach is all back to normal, depending on the winds and sand shifting. This is how mother nature works, it?s amazing and awesome. My point is there is less beach, especially at high tide in some areas and this means less space for the birds to nest, hence less space for us, the ORV users. Who knows? In my lifetime I may see the Outer Banks dissappear or at least parts of it due to the constant beach erosion, hurricanes, and storm surges. I hope that day never comes but it could happen. So in closing, I feel it would be beneficial to the piping plover and to us if at times the eggs were taken from the nest and incubated to assure a safe fledging. This would give us our beaches and fishing spots back and bring the piping plover population back up. One thing I have noticed since reading these comments and making my own are that we, the common people, both local and vacationers to the island, have some great idea?s and thoughts to correct the issues at hand. It?s the politicians, lawyers, lawmakers and the Audubon Society that need to question themselves and the laws they have put in place. Let?s take the power back and make a stand, which I know a lot of you islanders have, good job! I?m right there with you because I love Hatteras and have so many great memories. Lets get these laws changed so future generations to come can enjoy the island as it was back in the day. Peace & respect.
The key to the success in this story is compromise..Something our world lacks..
Not to mention the fact that those people were actually willing to take action.
I hear you Rob but be careful of COMPROMISE and what it has led to so far.
I?ve said it before but I?ll say it again.
Know your enemy in total. They will not stop. Never have in the past.
What I see has happened over the years is a strategic move on the part of those who want the beach eventually closed to all human access and “??.permanently reserved as a primitive wilderness??”. That quote is out of context from the Seashore enabling legislation and is used often by the enemy.
This strategy is being accomplished by a short range tactical plan to take little bits at a time over a long period of time until it is all taken. And the long period is decades. Much of this started in the 70?s with the closing of Pea Island to ORVs and the seasonal closures that became permanent in some areas.
COMPROMISE has been the operative word/method they have used. “Surely you can COMPROMISE and give up this little piece. Look what we are leaving you with”. However, nothing seems to ever come back (eg. Pea Island and area around Buxton/Frisco/Hatteras). Then they come back later for another little piece. “Hey, come on COMPROMISE, you don?t want to look bad by not COMPROMISING do you ??”
I also see pushing for an ORV ban in selected areas as just a tactical step in the strategic direction and a push for further pedestrian ban will eventually come. Witness the current closures prohibiting any human entry. The COMPROMISE as I’ve observed it over the years has basically been in one direction only. The enemy considers they already own the whole area and their COMPROMISE is letting us keep some part for now as they move forward with their strategic plan.
My Dad essentially told me this back in the 70?s when he said it was only starting with Pea Island. Unfortunately I was too “SMART” at the time to listen and understand.
I think I now understand.
With ya on the “Compromise” thing, SJ!
I was also “Too Smart” at one time, not so long ago, to believe they?d ever be able to close Cape Point. Like you, I have since been “enlightened”?..
I believe the outcome for the birds in Illinois clearly shows that hands-on management of these species can and does work, whereas the “No humans for a square mile” scenario currently implemented in CHNSRA does not! Just the aspect of humans keeping predators at bay alone speaks volumes for adopting such measures for PIPL recovery in our area.
I?ve also heard of other places in the Midwest, mining areas in particular, where the mining companies set up their own rookeries by placing aggregate the plovers prefer in areas out of the way of machinery/humans, and the plover not only move to said areas, but also thrive!
I?m still of a firm belief that through habitat modification in and around the Salt Pond at Cape Point, a “Plover Perfect” area could be established that would allow more reasonable access for humans and better recovery prospects for PIPL.
I will continue to advocate the creation and use of spoil islands in the Pamlico Sound for other “Species of Concern” to use for their nesting sites, as the numbers of nesting birds on both Cora Juna and Dredge islands this summer were staggering. IFP?s Donnie Bowers had a great slideshow of Cora June a couple of months back, and a look in the archives will show just how well some species fare on these man-made islands.
If it were really “about the birds”, I think we could offer up some well thought-out and viable solutions to the problems that face us, but?..