Piping Plovers growing older

While there are still some re-nesting Piping Plovers across our state, much of Connecticut has chicks. Some of the earliest nesting pairs, that had eggs in April, now have chicks starting to resemble their parents. After hatching in May these birds grew quickly and are to the point now that they can be called fledglings, having gained the ability to fly (mostly!) and become independent from mom and dad.

Steve Spector sent us this nice photo of a couple young ones from East Broadway in Milford.

They were 34 days old when this was taken. They and one more sibling have made it through the busy beach season in the area thanks to volunteers like the Spectors monitoring them, speaking to visitors and providing those interested with our brochures on Piping Plovers. Beachgoers and residents of their "home" beach have been very helpful as well, watching out for the birds whenever possible and giving them the room they need to thrive.

It is certainly possible to successfully share the beach with Piping Plovers even when large numbers of people are on it simply by taking a few precautions, allowing the birds some space, and following the existing ordinances of the municipality. With that said, none of this would be possible without the dedication of all of our amazing volunteers, so thank you again for your service. We hope there will be many more chicks turning into juveniles in our final two months of monitoring.


Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.