Great Lakes Endangered Shorebird Has Record Year

A shorebird that’s endangered in the Great Lakes region had a record-setting year in 2017. Wildlife officials saw the highest number of piping plovers breeding on the lakes since the bird was listed as endangered in 1985.

The Great Lakes had 76 pairs of piping plovers hatch chicks this year, said wildlife biologist Vincent Cavalieri with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Cavalieri, who heads up the shorebird’s recovery on the Great Lakes, said it was the first time since 1955 that piping plovers were breeding on all five lakes.

“That was a pretty big milestone for the recovery program,” he said. “Something we’re certainly happy about, especially going from only occurring in Michigan at the time of listing to now kind of reclaiming a good chunk of their former breeding range.”

Cavalieri credits conservation efforts on the Great Lakes aimed at closing off small sections of beach and providing nesting exclosures that protect the shorebird’s eggs from predators. He said they’ve also been restoring their numbers through a captive rearing program that aims to salvage abandoned eggs.

Wisconsin set a record with eight pairs of piping plovers nesting on the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior and Cat Island chain in Green Bay in 2017.

“This year we had four pairs of piping plovers nest on those islands out there in Green Bay,” he said. “Last year, we had one pair and that was the first time piping plovers had nested in Green Bay in a very long time.”

Cavalieri said they’re looking at ways to enhance or maintain habitat for piping plovers there. He said they’d also like to see the birds nest on Minnesota Point in Duluth and Wisconsin Point in Superior.

“They’ve certainly documented piping plover use of the area during migration. There’s been plovers sighted on both Minnesota and Wisconsin Point during migration,” he said. “We’re always hoping that a pair will stay and nest, but it hasn’t happened yet.”

Cavalieri said heavy beach traffic year-round has deterred the shorebird from breeding at Minnesota Point. Piping plovers haven’t nested in the Twin Ports since the mid-1980s.

Many of the birds found breeding on the Great Lakes were spotted at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan with a record 41 pairs. Piping plovers are endangered in the Great Lakes, but they’re listed as threatened across the Atlantic Coast and Northern Great Plains.