Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Project
Swaying evergreens. Mournful loon calls. Thick layers of crunchy pine needles underfoot. Distinctive drifting pine scent. Immense lakes with deep blue, refreshingly cool water.
Northern Michigan. One of the most beautiful places on earth, and home to the endangered Great Lakes Piping Plover.
This pocket-sized, leggy shorebird is anything but delicate. Round and stocky, these little plovers have a sandy grayish brown coloration with white underparts. The adults often have a narrow black collar around the back of their neck, a black band as a “combover” on top of their head, and orangish yellow bill and legs. Their melodic peeping call is music to my ears.

Researchers have identified over 40 different potential threats to the Piping Plovers, challenging this bird’s overall survival. Ironically, 50% of these are human-caused issues including: boats, e-bikes, dogs on beaches, off leash dogs, biplanes, paragliders, kites, ATV’s, extreme weather causing nest washouts, dredging, changing habitat, rock hunters on beaches, fireworks, changes in insect abundancy, and a whole host of predators including ravens, mink, deer mice, peregrine falcons, merlins, bears, etc. This long list of challenges often means that less than 40% of all eggs laid become fully flighted teenagers.

While the idea that there are so many difficult challenges facing these teeny tiny birds can be daunting, the good news is that there are more than 40 different organizations joined in the effort to save them! Multiple states, various NPO’s, volunteer groups, governmental organizations and universities have all joined forces to work on the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Project (see below for the detailed expansive list). When you combine the efforts of all these dedicated passionate conservationists, you are bound to see positive results!
Each summer a portion of plover eggs are rescued from their natural habitat due to nest abandonment. Zookeepers from around the country work hard to hatch and hand rear these individuals in a project operated by the Detroit Zoo. Volunteers monitor wild nests closely and if they find eggs in need of attention, they collect and deliver the eggs to the hand rearing facility. This season, 22 chicks were hatched out, which meant a lot of hands with a very specific skill set were needed. Bird keepers work towards the goal of raising these chicks with minimal interaction and getting them back out into their natural habitat around 25-35 days old. This enables chicks to get their bearings, get around other piping plovers, and then start their migration at the end of the summer!
The summer of 2024 had a total of 81 unique pairs (78 breeding males and 78 breeding females) and 86 nests in the wild. This is the MOST pairs in a season since ESA listing in 1984! Another exciting stat, the summer of 2024 produced a record 122 fledged wild chicks. Add to that the additional human reared chicks released at various locations, the population is showing its’ resilient nature for survival.
The collaborative effort including so many stakeholders has also resulted in thinking outside the box of normal conservation practices that have proven to be very successful! A great example of this is the effort to translocate wild merlin during plover nesting season. While removing natural predators from nesting sites can be somewhat controversial, recent studies have shown that of the merlin translocated during one breeding season, 50% of them did not return to their original sites. These birds were moved to areas up to 300 kilometers away in areas with abundant prey available. The other 50% of merlin returned to their original territories, at minimum of two weeks later – just enough time for the chicks to grow a bit larger and be more proficient at escaping predators.
In an increasingly polarized world, the fact that so many folks, from so many different backgrounds can come together to work passionately to preserve this tiny little plover, gives me incredible hope for their future!


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