Ontario Piping Plover Watch 2008

 

 Once again this year, your assistance would be appreciated in reporting sightings of Piping Plover along the Ontario Great Lakes shoreline and informing others to watch for this bird.  The Piping Plover is a nationally and provincially endangered shorebird that last nested along the Canadian Great Lakes shoreline in the 1970’s.  In the past few years, an increasing trend in the number of breeding pairs and continuing high productivityin northern Michigan, where the Great Lakes population continues to nest, has lead to the expectation that Piping Plover may re-occupy former nesting territory in Ontario.  In 2007, there was evidence of that trend when Piping Plovers nested successfully on the Ontario shoreline of the Great Lakes for the first time in 30 years.

Last year’s monitoring activity resulted in multiple sightings of adult Piping Plovers and nesting attempts including:

Lake of the Woods area

There were 7 observed adults (2 Sable Islands Provincial Nature Reserve and 5 Windy Point), and 3 unsuccessful nesting attempts due to wave-washing and suspected predation.

North Sauble Beach

A pair of banded Piping Plovers were first observed on this beach by thirteen-year old Brendan Toews and his mother Kim on Mother’s day – May 13, 2007.  Three chicks survived to fledgling stage and left Sauble Beach on August 4, 2007.  This was the first successful nesting attempt by Piping Plovers on the Ontario great lakes shorelines in 30 years (the last occurred at Long Point on Lake Erie in 1977) and the first time that plovers have again used this beach in 35 years.  

Thank you to everyone who was involved in monitoring and reporting on Piping Plover last year!

Already this year there have been four pairs of Piping Plovers found nesting; two pair at Wasaga Beach PP, one pair at Oliphant beach and one pair at North Sauble Beach (same birds as last year).  Here’s hoping we have another successful year!   An individual Piping Plover was sighted on the Toronto Islands in late May.

Reporting Sightings

If you observe Piping Plover or become aware of a sighting, please contact Don Sutherland, Ministry of Natural Resources or Jeff Robinson, Canadian Wildlife Service, noting the date, location, observer, with contact information, and any evidence of bands.  If the observation is in a provincial park, park staff should also ensure that the Park Superintendent and Zone Ecologist are notified.  Any occurrences of birds should be kept confidential.  In order to avoid undue disturbance to the plovers, do not search for nests and report the sighting as soon as possible so that actions needed to protect potential nest sites can be assessed and implemented. The most critical time to look for birds is between late April and early June, when the birds are arriving at breeding sites and are engaged in conspicuous territorial and nest initiation displays.  The information will be compiled and used in an annual report on the Piping Plover on the Great  Lakes in Ontario for MNR, Parks Canada and CWS use. 

The active nests at Wasaga Beach PP, Oliphant beach and Sauble Beach need additional volunteers to act as guardians.  Participating in the guardian program is a rewarding experience both from the help you give to an endangered species and getting to watch the birds in a beautiful setting.  Volunteers who would like to help at Sauble Beach or Oliphant beach should contact Stew Nutt at (519) 372-8588 or saubleplover@gmail.com; interested volunteers for Wasaga Beach PP can call the Park office at (705) 429-2516 and leave a message for Stacey Kerslake. 

There are several locations that are priorities for regular monitoring. These include historical sites of occurrence such as: Windy Point (Kenora) and Sable Islands Provincial Nature Reserve (NWZ), Awenda Provincial Park (CZ), Crescent Beach (Guelph), Crystal Beach (Guelph), Erieau (Aylmer), Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve (SW), Long Beach (Guelph), Long Point Provincial Park (SW), Oliphant Beach (Midhurst), Point Pelee National Park (PC), Presqu’ile Provincial Park (SE), Rondeau Provincial Park (SW), Sandbanks Provincial Park (SE), Toronto Islands (Aurora), Turkey Point Provincial Park (SW), Van Wagner’s/Burlington Beach (Guelph), and Wasaga Beach Provincial Park (CZ). Sites which are not known to have supported Piping Plover historically, but which otherwise offer some suitable habitat for Piping Plover are also a priority for monitoring and include: Amherst Island, Darlington Provincial Park (SE), Michael’s Bay (Sudbury), Dorcas Bay (Midhurst), James N. Allen Provincial Park (SW), Port Burwell Provincial Park (SW), Port Franks (Aylmer), and The Pinery Provincial Park (SW). 

As many historic and/or suitable sites are located in provincial parks, parks staff that are on or near beaches to prepare for the operating season are especially requested to be on the alert for Piping Plovers. 

Please be sure to consult with park staff if you are interested in monitoring in a national or provincial park.  Also remember that permission from landowners is required to monitor any areas located on private property.

Please report sightings of Piping Plover and breeding evidence to:

Don Sutherland

tel: 705-755-2161

e-mail: don.sutherland@ontario.ca 

Jeff Robinson

tel: 519-472-6695

e-mail: Jeff.Robinson@ec.gc.ca

 

Posted by Don Hall