Happy Bday to our 45-day-old Piping Plover fledgling! He/she is the last of the Good Harbor Beach flyers. The photo/video was taken on Thursday when the little one was 42 days, or six weeks old. This is the age when we typically see them head out for their southbound migration. He’s still here as of Saturday but we are hoping to not see him any day now 🙂
I am very sorry to share that the rescue Plover did not survive. Tufts wrote that the chick had multiple chronic healed fractures and that the wing was held in a permanently drooped position. He would never be able to fly. I was at first feeling extremely low about this but both our partners at Audubon and Lis from DCR wrote that if left on the beach its demise would have been very traumatic and, if not eaten by a predator, would slowly starve to death.
Thank you so very much to everyone who wrote with well-wishes for the injured Plover.
Our youngest fledgling has resurfaced at Good Harbor Beach! He/she had not been since the morning of the fierce hail and rain storm but there she was in the soft sand today, preening and sleeping alongside a mini flock of Semipalmated Plovers. Will they migrate south together? Piping Plovers are reportedly solitary but are often seen during the non-breeding months foraging in mixed groups of Semipalmated Plovers, Sanderlings, and Dunlins. Several years ago, during their southward migration, I saw a flock of a dozen Piping Plovers tucked in with several hundred Semipalmated Plovers, all resting on the upper part of the beach.
39 day old Piping Plover fledgling with Semipalmated Plovers
Semipalmated Plover range map – orange = breeding, yellow = migration, blue = wintering grounds
You can see from the map that the range of Semipalmated Plovers is vast when compared to Piping Plovers. They nest in subarctic and arctic environments and that is why we do not see them nesting at our local beaches. August is the peak time of year for the Semipalmated Plover’s southbound migration and we have seen many at Good Harbor Beach over the past month. Partners in Flight estimates the global population to be about 200,000 while the Piping Plover population as of 2020 was only about 8,000 adults.
Semipalmated Plovers are called as such because only their two outer toes are webbed, ie. semi. The photos show the webbed tracks and the partial webbing of the toes.
The morning after the first super high tide at Good Harbor Beach we were surprised and delighted to see a third Plover had joined our Fierce Dad and his almost-fledged chick. We found the three on the narrowest strip of beach that had not been impacted by the hurricane tide. They have been seen together ever since!
First Photo: Mystery/Butterball left, Fierce Dad right Second Photo: 30 day old Piping Plover chick
I think my daughter may have solved the Mystery and we believe this Plover could be what would now be the 54-day-old fledgling we were calling Butterball. He appears to be a similar stage of development and it makes sense; after Butterball’s Dad departed, Butterball attempted to forage alongside Fierce Dad’s chick several weeks back, but FDad would have none of it and was in maximum defensive mode for his little one at that time. Now that his chick is older and more independent perhaps he feels it’s safe to socialize with other Plovers; although at one point FDad planted himself firmly between his chick and Mystery.
Below are photos of 40 to 42 day old Plovers from years past and they are the only photos I can locate at the moment of Plovers past 36 days. Our Mystery Plover looks to be at least as old as the Plovers in the photos
This last photo if of HipHop, Super Dad, and HipHop’s 46-day-old sibling. Although the sibling is out of focus, you can see its feather patterning is similar to the Mystery Plover. This was such a sweet sibling; he stayed with HipHop until he could fly. You may recall HipHop who was developmentally challenged. The first year Mom returned to Good Harbor Beach missing a foot, one of her chicks sustained a hip injury.He was nicknamed HipHop for his hopping gait and it took him many, many weeks to catch up to his siblings. Both Super Dad and this one sibling gave HipHop lots of snuggles and stayed with him well beyond the time frame in which they would typically migrate.
For my New Jersey Friends and Family –
For my New Jersey Friends and Family – Montclair Film and The Nature Conservancy of NJ are hosting a special screening of The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay on Tuesday, August 26th at 7pm. QandA with me to follow. To purchase tickets, please go here: https://theclairidge.org/events/the-piping-plovers-of-moonlight-bay/
The anticipated update for the 2025 season with these most beautiful and most vulnerable of mini beach friends I feel is finally ‘safe’ to write. I only write safe because we try very hard to find a balance between sharing information to help create an awareness about the Plovers and also not bringing too much attention to the nesting birds.
First off I would like to thank our outstanding crew of kind-hearted volunteers, especially our core group who sign up for shifts that are an hour or longer and come everyday. This summer we had a very extended season with the chicks (more about that below) yet despite that, they stuck it out to the very end. Thank you to Jennie Meyer, Paula and Alexa Niziak, Kim Bouris, Steve Spina, Sandy Barry, Deborah Brown, Barbara Boudreau, Jill Ortiz, and Marty Coleman. We’d also like to thank our subs Heidi, Velia, Sally, and Jonathan.
If you see these kind and caring people around town, please thank them for their dedicated wildlife conservation work that they do so graciously and so tirelessly.
Thank you to Lyra Brennan, Rose Caplan, Jamie Infanti, and all our Audubon partners. We saw a great deal of Emma this summer and she is wonderful, staying extra long hours in the summer’s heat to watch over the chicks. Audubon does such great work and are responsible for not only Good Harbor Beach, but many other shorebird nesting areas all along the Massachusetts coastline. We appreciate their thoughtful and action oriented responses so much, especially when it comes to some of the more serious issues that arise over the course of the season. With thanks and gratitude to Lyra, Rose, Jamie, Will, Emma, Charles, and Claudia.
Thank you also to Gloucester’s Joe Lucido, Tom Nolan, and the entire DPW Crew. These guys are amazing and are always working so hard to make our beaches safe and presentable. Despite the double load imposed on the Crew (because of the additional work they are doing during the garbage strike), they are ever present and so very much appreciated.
DPW Crew setting the roping in place n March
We’d also like to thank several gentlemen who are at GHB nearly every single morning, starting in the spring. While most beach visitors are still sleeping, these gentlemen voluntarily pick up the plethora of garbage found littering the beach leftover from the previous day. They ensure our beaches look pristine by the time the gate opens at 8am. Chris Cefalo, his brother Fred, Michael Cook (and there is a fourth gentleman whose name I don’t know), work tirelessly cleaning the beach, from the tiniest bits of plastic to hauling off the larger items like chairs, tables, umbrellas, and tents. If you see these gentlemen around town, please thank them for the good work they do.
And a huge shout out to all the many, many beachgoers who express interest in the Plovers, want to learn more, give the chicks lots of space, and respect the cordoned off areas.
Piping Plover Smooshies
One of the many gifts we receive as Plover Ambassadors is watching tiny baby birds the size marshmallows develop into beautiful little flyers. The clips are of Fierce Dad and FairFeathered Mom’s offspring; the first clip is of two-day-old hatchlings, the second clip is of two-week-old chicks, and the last clips of the three- and a half-week-old chick. When Plovers hatch they can feed themselves entirely independent of the parent however, they need to thermoregulate to keep warm (otherwise known as thermo-snuggles and smooshies). The birds instinctively know to tuck under Mom and Dad’s wing to keep warm.
The 2025 Piping Plover Season at Good Harbor Beach
The season started phenomenally well, with the earliest arrival ever of Super Dad and our footless Handicapped Mom. Fierce Dad also arrived on the very same day as this original pair. It is always a much anticipated and joyful moment when we begin to see the first Plovers returning, especially Super Mom and Dad. This resilient little pair are at least 11 years old. We know this because they began nesting at Good Harbor Beach in 2016 and Plovers have to be at least one year old before they can begin breeding. Each year its become more and more tenuous as to whether or not we will see the return of our wonderful original pair. Plovers only live on average 3 to 5 years and this pair, at 11 years young, are quite a respectable age for their species.
Piping Plover Courtship
Fierce Dad and Original Dad spent a good part of the first few weeks in competition for territory and for Super Mom, with Fierce Dad even putting the moves on Mom several times. At one point we had nine Plovers, and four were nesting pairs, the most ever! There were lots of territorial disputes, some ending in serious smackdowns but for the most part, the birds began to settle in to brood their eggs.Piping Plovers Mating
Original Mom and Dad’s clutch was nearing hatch date when on May 22nd, the coast of Massachusetts was walloped by a late season nor’easter. The tide rose higher than we have ever seen in late May and three of the four nests were washed away. As devastating as that was, it was a joy to find one remaining nest, the young parents that are a new pair to Good Harbor Beach. From their nest of three eggs, two chicks hatched.
Over time original Mom and Dad attempted to re-nest. After a brief recovery period, Mom laid a new clutch of three eggs. However, this second clutch of eggs was predated by a Crow. As the season progresses there are more and more Crows and gulls scavenging the beach, seeking garbage left behind by people. We know it was a Crow from the tracks found around the nest.
Remarkably Mom and Dad laid four more eggs, a grand three clutches, 11 eggs in total. Once again, the eggs were snatched and Crow tracks were found encircling the nest scrape. Our Handicapped Mom left shortly after the third nest was lost. Super Dad hung on for a bit longer but he too departed. All was not lost as the one remaining chick from the young parents grew and developed into a lovely, albeit super chunky, fledgling and has begun its southward migration. Note – we love super chunky fledglings. They’ll have lots of stored fat reserves to get them through their first migration.
FairFeathered Mom and one-day-old hatchling
Today we still have one almost-fledged chick remaining at Good Harbor Beach. This little chunkola is Fierce Dad and FairFeathered Mom’s offspring, from their re-nest. Because the eggs hatched so late in the season and the females usually begin migrating before the males, FairFeathered Mom left when her chick was only five days old, leaving Fierce Dad to raise the chick solo. Fierce Dad has lived up to his name, fighting off every gull, crow and even other shorebirds that dare to come within 100 yards of his offspring. He is still parenting the chick who is quite independent at this point. Nonetheless, the almost fledged chick still goes in for snuggles and smooshies and relies on Dad to keep the gulls at bay.
Along with a great bounty of seaweed washed in with the late May nor’easter, the seaweed was littered with zillions of pieces of small yellow and green plastic
Just as has happened at GHB this summer, nests were washed out along the entire coastline of Massachusetts. With many pairs re-nesting, the conservation biologists from every Mass coastal region saw much lower productivity with these second nests, and in some cases (Super Mom and Dad), third nests. What does low-productivity mean? Not as many eggs were laid and of the eggs that were laid, fewer than usual hatched. So, for example a second clutch with only three eggs, only one or two of the eggs may hatch. And all coastal areas across the region experienced higher than usual heavy predation by Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, Crows, and Eastern Coyotes. My own theory for that is because when chicks hatch in May for example there are far fewer flocks of seagulls on the beach. But when chicks hatch in July and August, Crows, Gulls, and Coyotes are acclimated to finding free food, i.e. garbage, at the beach, which leads to greater interest in shorebird eggs and chicks. Also at this later time in the summer, there are thousands of hungry fledglings on beaches begging their parents for food.
We are hopeful that next year we won’t have another late, late nor’easter and all the pairs that attempted to nest at GHB this season will return and try again. If you would like to join our volunteer team of Plover Ambassadors, please contact me either by leaving a comment or emailing me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com. We would love to have you!
If you would like to learn more about how we can all help protect shorebird wildlife and their habitats, please watch our film The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay. Our documentary is streaming on the PBS Passport AP anytime you would like to watch it. Everyone can become a member of PBS Passport by donating to PBS. It’s so worthwhile, especially for young children with curious minds. What other streaming service can you get for $5.00 a month!!
According to the Gloucester City ordinance code, it is a $300.00 fine (doubled during the season) to bring a dog to Good Harbor Beach. For example, if you bring two dogs, that is 600. x 2 = $1200.
But stating the fines right off doesn’t explain why.
Health and Safety
Our beaches are wonderfully filled with beachgoers during the summer months. Can you imagine adding dogs, either on or off leash, to the mix? Dog ownership is at a record high, much greater than even a generation ago. In 2000 there were roughly 68 million pet dogs, today there are about 90 million dogs. What if everyone who owns a dog brought theirs to the beach?
Let’s face the facts, a great many dogs are not on voice command. We have dogs jumping on children, knocking over the young and old, biting people, and getting into dog fights and biting each other. That is not a safe scenario for any beachgoer.
But what if the law were changed to allow dogs on leash?
We would have half abiding by the leash law and half saying “I left my leash at home,” or “I thought it was okay to let my dog off leash after 5pm,” or “I thought it was okay before 8am,” etc. etc. How do we know this? Because we already hear these statements during the off leash/on leash days at Good Harbor Beach.Pile of poop at the Good Harbor Beach snack bar area
Good Harbor Beach Footbridge
Dog Poop is a consequential environmental issue. During the season when dogs are allowed on the beach we see the gamut of poop-maintenance behaviors. Most people clean up after their pet. However, many people bury the poop in the sand or leave their poop bags behind. When someone leaves their bag by the footbridge, then other dog owners take it as a sign as a place to deposit their bag. The pile of dog poop in a rainbow color of bags grows and grows. Do we want beachgoers stepping in sand covered poop or being confronted with piles of dog poop? There is no poop cleaning fairy. It is left to our awesome DPW or one of the very nice volunteers, like Chris Cefalo, his brother, and Michael Cook who regularly cleans GHB to remove garbage and also the bags of poop.
Keeping Dogs out of the Dunes During the Growing Season Helps Protect the Dune Ecosystem
If you regularly visit Good Harbor Beach during the off season, you can’t help but notice, the “Keep out of Dunes” signs are frequently ignored by pet owners. There are many who do respect this vital habitat, but also many who don’t. Dogs running and playing vigorously through the vegetation tears at the roots and weakens the plants. Vegetation holds the dune sand in place and without plants the dunes continually recede.
Over the past several years, you may also have noticed the vast improvement in the overall health of the dunes. There is a direct correlation to keeping the symbolically roped off areas up through out the summer season and into the fall because by preventing people and pets from recreating right up to the base of the dunes, it allows just that much more room for vegetation to take hold, and is one fantastic tool in the tool box against fighting erosion.
Dog going pooh within nesting area
Keeping Dogs off the Beach Helps Nesting Shorebirds Survive
Last, but not least, dogs on the beach are a well-known threat to shorebird nests and especially to young birds that can’t yet fly to escape danger.
How so you may wonder? “My dog is so sweet and would never harm a baby bird.”
When there are baby birds on the beach, the Plover parents do their absolute utmost best to keep the chicks safe. The parents exhibit all sorts of distraction behaviors including dragging and fluttering their wings on the ground to fake injury, thereby encouraging the predator to follow it and drawing the threat away from their most vulnerable chicks.
Plovers cannot tell the difference between a domestic dog, Fox, or Coyote. Dogs bound exuberantly on the beach through nesting areas and Coyotes and Fox dig in the sand for eggs and chicks. The ever vigilant Plover parent will leave the nest and fly at any creature Canid. Often, both parents will fly away from the nest in a sort of tag team distraction method. But while they are busy defending the chicks from a member of the dog family, that is the perfect time for a gull, crow, hawk, or falcon to swoop in and snatch the eggs or eat the baby chicks. Crows focus on eggs and gulls not only eat the eggs, they also eat chicks at every stage of development, even fledglings that have grown as large as the parent. Coyotes eat both eggs and chicks.
Especially during pupping season, Red Fox scavenge the beach looking for shorebird eggs, small mammals, and birds to feed their growing family. Plovers cannot distinguish the difference between a Coyote, Fox, or domestic dog.
Fierce Dad and FairFeathered Mom tag team distracting a Herring Gull
As I am writing this message, please know that we still have young birds at Good Harbor Beach that can’t yet fly well enough to escape predators. This is extremely late in the season and is due to the tremendous loss of nests during the May Nor-easter; losses all along the coast of Massachusetts. Many of the nesting birds eventually re-nested and we are seeing their offspring. Shorebird managers across Massachusetts are contending with taking care of these late flying chicks.
Here are on Cape Ann we are blessed with many beautiful alternative locations to walk our dogs, including Crab Beach (adjacent to the Boulevard), which is open year round to dogs and dog owners.
If you would like to see scenes of Plovers displaying their fascinating distraction techniques and learn more about predators on beaches, please watch our film The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay, which I created specifically for people to learn more about how we can all help protect shorebird wildlife and their habitats. Our documentary is streaming on the PBS Passport AP 24/7. Anyone can become a member of PBS Passport by donating to PBS. It’s so worthwhile, especially for young children with curious minds. What other streaming service can you get for $5.00 a month!!
As I first wrote, it is a $300.00 fine and doubled during the season to bring dogs to Good Harbor Beach, so please dog owners, for your sake, for the health of the beach ecosystem, and for the safety of growing shorebirds, please do not walk your dog at Good Harbor Beach or any beach where there is precious habitat and baby birds. Thank you!The No Dogs from April 1st through September 30th signs are boldly displayed at every entryway to Good Harbor Beach
I am very delighted to write that our Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay is screening on Monday, August 18th at 6:00pm. We are sharing the billing with another animal welfare documentary, The Ramba Effect, about an Asian Elephant and her 2,550 mile journey to her new home at an elephant sanctuary. If you are in the New Hope area and would like to see The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay and The Rhamba Effect, please go here https://www.goelevent.com/NewHopeFilmFestival/e/AnimalWelfareDocumentaries
First the bad news – our Super Mom and Dad’s nest was washed away during Thursday’s nor’easter. We are very sad about this especially as chick hatching was imminent.
Our Original Pair have never before lost a nest because of a storm however, several years ago, a pair at GHB did lose their nest due to wash out as it was in a very unsafe place, smack dab in the middle of the beach. That pair successfully renested.
We are much more fortunate than some beaches. Our Plover ambassador friends at Hull lost a total of 25 nests and the high tides have destroyed miles of their symbolic shorebird protections.
Super Mom and Dad after the nor’easter
Fierce Dad catching breakfast after the storm
Now for the good news – Piping Plovers often renest, especially when this early in the season. One pair was documented renesting a total of seven times in one season. And it appears as though Super Mom and Dad are preparing to do just that. After a day of looking lost and forlorn, Dad is making scrapes in the sand and calling to Mom. Producing a new batch of eggs is very taxing for the female and our Super Mom is already very vulnerable due to her loss of one foot. A gentle reminder that when you see Plovers on the beach, please give them lots of space to forage, and hopefully, make new eggs.
Despite the extremely high storm tide going all the way to the base of the dunes, Good Harbor Beach survived the storm fairly well and looks better after this nor’easter than any nor’easter that I can recall. Why you may wonder? As a direct result of the symbolically roped off areas in place for the Plovers, beachgoers and pets are restricted from recreating right up to the base of the dunes. This has allowed native vegetation to take hold, and in some areas, to thrive. This vegetation, such as beach grass and Sea Rocket, holds the sand in place and is our very best defense against rising sea level and the ravaging effects of the highest of tides and gale force winds.
The photos tell the story best
Compare the photos from storm damage in 2018 and how the dunes looks in 2024.Note how far back is the dune, the sheer drop off, and complete lack of vegetation. I recall a time when people were so very worried about how much beach we were losing each year to severe storm damage. That is no longer the case!
Click on the above photos from 2018 to enlarge and get a sense of how much the beach has filled in and how much healthier are the dunes.
Good Harbor Beach 2021, 2024, and 2025 – vegetation gradually taking hold and the sand is filling in.
A plethora of Atlantic Surf Clams tossed ashore by the sea
What are these peculiar mounds dotting the beach after the nor’easter? The photos are included to show how much the sand shifted during the storm and how vegetation helps keep sand in place
Soooo much seaweed at Brace Cove! The insects attracted to the drying seaweed is fantastic for wildlife, but get ready for super smelliness!
We are overjoyed to share that handicapped Mom and Super Dad have returned for their ninth year nesting at Good Harbor Beach!!! The pair were spotted by Tom on Sunday, the 24th. I raced over to meet him and we watched with delight as they foraged hungrily at the Creek shoreline. This is a record for Mom and Dad, by one day. We have been checking daily and know for certain that they flew in sometime the night before. At first I thought it was not handicapped Mom because the two were running so vigorously along the water’s edge but I was mistaken and it is our Mom! Plover pairs don’t always arrive on the exact same day, together. We know from banding programs that pairs don’t necessarily share the same wintering grounds; it’s wonderfully mystifying when they do share the same arrival date.
Second bit of good news is that the DPW crew is at the beach now as I write this, installing the roping. Unfortunately, we do not yet know if Audubon is going to be working at GHB this summer. Trying to obtain a clear answer has been challenging.
I apologize for the delay in letting you all know and thought it best to wait until the symbolic fencing went up and they had a safe zone.
If you would like to join us this summer volunteering as a Piping Plover Ambassador, please leave a comment in the comment section or email at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com.
I am working non stop on the PiPl documentary through Friday, when it goes back to the film finishing editors in Boston. I won’t be able to respond to emails until Saturday, unless it’s a PiPl emergency 🙂
Happiest of Springs ❤
xoKim
P.S. I just dropped off a batch of cheery Plover Peep yellow tees and onesies at Alexandra’s if you are in need of an Easter gift 🙂
I hope you are having a joyous holiday season. If you live in the area, please be sure not to miss Gloucester’s Lobster Trap Tree. It’s extra magnificent this year, with 400 traps to honor Gloucester’s 400th anniversary. The tree is fancifully decorated with hundreds of buoys hand painted by local kids. Very generously, the traps for the tree were permanently given to the community by Jim Knott, CEO of Riverdale Mills, with the labor for making the traps donated by Brooks Trap Mill. Every year the tree is built by David Brooks, Shawn Henry and a fantastic group of local volunteers.
The clip is of a young Plover chick and his Dad. I love watching the little ones pop up from the warming wings of an adult. You never know what direction they are going to zoom off to but often enough, they stretch their tiny developing winglets and give a yawn after emerging from thermo-snuggling.
This is just one of hundreds of clips from our forthcoming documentary. Film finishing editing is going beautifully and we are planning to have a cut ready to submit to festivals in January.
Please consider making an end of the year tax deductible donation to our ongoing film funding efforts. Your contribution goes directly to the cost of finishing the film and is absolutely invaluable!
We are deeply appreciative of every gift given, small and large. For large contributions, your name and organization’s logo is prominently displayed at the beginning and end of the film, with opportunities for up to 30 second promotional spots. Please feel free to call or write with any questions regarding sponsorship.
With gratitude to the following PiPl friends for their kind contributions – Alice and David Gardner (Beverly), JoeAnn Hart (Gloucester), Kim Tieger (Manchester), Joanne Hurd (Gloucester), Holly Niperus (Phoenix), Bill Girolamo (Melrose), Claudia Bermudez (Gloucester), Paula and Alexa Niziak (Rockport), Todd Pover (Springfield), Cynthia Dunn (Gloucester), Nancy Mattern (Albuquerque), Marion Frost (Ipswich), Cecile Christianson (Peabody), Sally Jackson (Gloucester), Donna Poirier Connerty (Gloucester), Mary Rhinelander (Gloucester), Jane Hazzard (Georgetown), Duncan Holloman (Gloucester), Karen Blandino (Rockport), Duncan Todd (Lexington), Sue Winslow (Gloucester), Amy Hauck-Kalti (Ohio), JoAnn Souza (Newburyport), Karen Thompson (San Francisco), and my sweet husband Tom 🙂
Thank you so very much for your support and for seeing the tender beauty in the life story of the Piping Plover.
The Piping Plover Project 