Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)

Most of our shorebirds are gone for the winter, but you can still find the Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) on our shores. They can be seen just about year-round in Connecticut.

WildLife Guards and STEAM

Here we have a couple of adorable little ones learning by doing and constructing baby Piping Plover chicks during an outreach event for the Bridgeport WildLife Guards with Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History this past Saturday. We were one of the exhibits during a celebration of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) for children of all ages at Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The kids are building a hatchling out of a marshmallow, pretzels, chocolate and raisins.

 
While they are building this bird we are building future environmentalists, birders, and conservationists by educating them on the importance of endangered species like this one and to care for our rare and unique habitats. We pass along lessons such as not littering, respecting nesting areas and giving birds space, keeping pets and vehicles out of sensitive spots, and some basic biology of very cool birds with great adaptations like the American Oystercatcher. This sort of teaching is engaging, memorable and delicious! Even when we are in the offseason for field work and these birds are on wintering grounds to our south we are working every single day in many forms of art, conservation and education.