Another Jones Beach, NY bird last Saturday, an unseasonal Piping Plover. They usually don't return from their winter range in parts south until March or April, but in recent years, as the climate has warmed, a rare few have remained up here all winter. This winter that may have posed a problem for pipers lime this one, as the polar vortex brought weeks of intense cold and major snowfalls. Food became scarce. This Plover was out and about foraging on this first mild day in a while, and seemed to be behaving erratically.

Piping Plovers are an endangered species due to habit loss and climate change, including rising sea levels. Concerted education and outreach efforts and protection of nesting colonies (often on public beaches) have led to recovery in some places, but overall, numbers continue to decline. The Audubon Society estimates that they stand to lose half their current range by 2050 if global warming continues at its current rate.
#climatechange #extinction #birds #birding #birdphotography #birdsofmastodon #biodiversity #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #shorebirds #peeps #pipingplover

The tiniest of one-day-old Piping Plover chicks poses inside half a seashell. 🤎 🤍 🖤

Photographer - Kathy Diamontopoulos

#Birds #BirdsOfMastodon #PipingPlover #BabyBirds

When sarcoptic mange decimated the red fox population on Fire Island (NY, USA), feral cats took their place as the apex predator, worsening pressure on breeding piping plovers.

#Ecology #Cats #FeralCats #PipingPlover #Birds

Back to bird drawings :)

"Piping plover" always sounds like an exclamation, à la "Piping Plover, Batman!" to me.

#PipingPlover #bird #birds #BirdArt #TraditionalArt #MastoArt

A #PipingPlover on the left and #Sanderling friend at the #beach

#birds #bird #nature #wildlife #photography #birdphotography #wildlifephotography #tropical #ocean