News Flash! The Piping Plover Is Endangered In Ohio!
Rafael Santos wants Ohioans to care about the endagered Ohio bird, the piping plover.
Piping plovers birds are an endangered bird in Ohio.
A lot of people don't know about this bird!
The Great Lakes population of the piping plover was listed as an endangered species in 1986.
Piping plovers used to nest on the larger Lake Erie beaches, but due to the disturbance and destruction of their habitat, their nests have disappeared in Ohio.
The last nesting record was in 1942; the piping plover is now only a migrant species. This means it lives in Ohio for a short time. The bird does not nest here anymore.
Piping plovers prefer sandy beaches, but migrants use large flat muddy land.
Piping plovers make a two-noted piping call.
Piping plovers eat insects, small crustaceans-- like crabs, fly larvae, and beetles.
The piping plover has been threatened since 1985! This means the piping plover is in danger of becoming extinct.
Only 8,000 piping plovers are left in the world!
The piping plover is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shore bird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America.
The bird is difficult to see when it is standing still, because it blends well with open, sandy beach habitats. It typically runs in short spurts and stops.
Why is the Piping Plover Endangered?
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The piping plovers have lost beaches where they build nests.
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People build homes, stores and other buildings on or near their beaches.
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People build dams and raise and lower water levels of lakes and rivers.
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Too much water in the spring floods the plovers’ nests.
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Too little water lets grasses and other plants grow on the nesting beachings.
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The birds cannot make good nests in these conditions.
People need to leave piping plovers alone!
If people disturb these birds or their nests, the parent birds will abandon their nests.
Be careful where you walk on the beach. Sometimes people crush eggs or young birds.
Dogs and cats sometimes kill the birds. Other animals, such as fox, gulls, and crows, eat young plovers or eggs.
What can we do to help the piping plover along our Great Lakes?
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Report the location of Piping Plovers and their nests.
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Stay away from nest exclosures and posted Piping Plover breeding areas.
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Always keep dogs leashed.
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Pack out your food waste and garbage.
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Leave driftwood and algae on the beaches.
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Do not operate vehicles on beaches with nesting Piping Plovers.
Thank you for saving the piping plover in Ohio!
Mary McCool Berry
Mary McCool Berry is a 30 year Lakewood resident and retired Lakewood City Schools educator (31 years). McCool Berry is the author of numerous grants funded to bring deep learning experiences to Lakewood's students. Mary McCool Berry, M.Ed., is the founder of Schools with Soul, works as an independent educational consultant. Schools with Souls is an organization dedicated to bringing whole child, experiential, project based learning to all children in every school. schoolswithsoul.com
McCool Berry also volunteers at Emerson and Roosevelt elementary schools. Students at these schools are involved in project based learning experiences involving immigration and species survival. Mary McCool Berry also posts education articles on her Linked In page.