The purpose of this page is two fold. The first is to provide a review of the results of the 1996 International Piping Plover Census in Texas and the second is to provide a page of useful links for people interested in this species. The focus of this page will be on WINTERING Piping Plover information. I hope this will inspire some additional discussion about the bird on the wintering ground. As you can see from the links, the focus has been on the breeding grounds. This is what it looks like the other 10 months of the year.

The species is federally listed as threatened on the wintering grounds and is also state listed as threatened in Texas. Birds begin to arrive on the Texas coast in mid-July. Their numbers peak in October. Roughly half of the world population winters on the Texas coast, but it is unknown how many migrate along the Texas Coast on their way further south into Mexico. Almost all of the birds have departed by mid-May, although a few may summer here (not breeding). So, the Texas Coast is PIPLess for half of May, June, and half of July.

This page, like most, is under construction. Send comments and info to lfelliott at abisw.org.

You can see another of my photos on the back cover of Defenders Magazine, Winter 1996-1997.

Last updated on 23 May 2008

Piping Plover Links

Wintering Grounds

• Revised Critical Habitat Designation for Wintering Piping Plovers in North Carolina and Texas (Proposed Rules, May 2008)
• Have you seen any color-banded Piping Plovers on the wintering grounds? Several banding efforts are ongoing on the breeding grounds, so now is a great time to look for band combinations on banded plovers and help determine where those breeding birds are spending MOST of their lives. First check out Sidney Maddock's tips on reading bands for non-breeding pipers then report your birds to piping.plover@usace.army.mil
• Critical Habitat Designation for Wintering Piping Plovers
• Biogeographical Profiles of Shorebird Migration in Midcontinental North America
  by Susan K. Skagen, Peter B. Sharpe, Robert G. Waltermire and M. Beth Dillon including:
• Important migration sites for Piping Plovers
  with data on maximum counts for spring, fall, and winter and
• Species account for Piping Plover
  with map of migration route and histogram of migration timing.
•  The First Regional Workshop ..... and A Symposium on the Wintering Ecology and Conservation of Piping Plovers - provides pdf of several interesting papers presented at the symposium.
• Brief report on Mexico census in 1997 - See full report in Mabee, T. J., Plissner, J. H., Haig, S. M., & Goossen, J. P. 2001. Winter distributions of North American plovers in the Laguna Madre regions of Tamaulipas, Mexico and Texas, USA. Wader Study Group Bulletin 94:39-43
• Christmas Bird Count Data for Texas - to 1997
• Census in Texas
  Results from 1996 International Piping Plover
• 2001 International Piping Plover Census. PDF of Ferland, C. L. and S. M Haig. 2002. 2001 International Piping Plover Census. U. S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, Oregon. 293 pp.
• [broken link] A complete species census and evidence of regional declines in Piping Plovers. Haig, S. M., C. L. Ferland, F. J. Cuthbert, J. Dingledine, J. P. Goosen, A. Hecht, N McPhillips. 2005. Journal of Wildlife Management 69(1):160-173.
• Distribution and abundance of Piping Plovers: Results and implications of the 1991 international census. Haig, S. M. and J. H. Plissner. 1993. The Condor 95:145-156.
• Distribution and status of the piping plover throughout the annual cycle. Haig, S.M. and L.W. Oring. 1985. Journal of Field Ornithology 56:334-345
• Birds of the Upper Texas Coast - Piping Plover
  Some good information on the species on the Upper Texas Coast (although the species is listed as Threatened on the wintering grounds) with links to other great sites. This is a good site for general information, too.
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - Piping Plover
  PDF of information on the species with particular emphasis on Texas
• Christmas Bird Count - Abundance Map for Piping Plovers
• ID information from the USGS, including basic plumage and song
• Another basic plumage image.
• The song of the Piping Plover - from Patuxent
• Radio bits on wintering Piping Plovers from the radioshow Passport to Texas.
  To listen, you may need to get Real Player at the following link:
• An Endangered Shorebird
• Efforts to Save

Fact Sheets

• Piping Plover-Atlantic Coast Population
  New Page with lots of good links!
• Distribution and abundance of piping plovers
  This is a great summary of some of Sue Haig and Jonathan Plissner's work on Piping Plovers.
• !!!!! Summary of 1996 International Piping Plover Census!!!
• USFWS, Region 3 - Region 3 USFWS has a little info and a picture
• Great Lakes - Some research activities around the Great Lakes
• Platte River - Information on the species on the Platte River
• Alberta - It's one of Alberta's Endangered Species, too
• Atlantic Canada - Piping Plover facts from Environmental Canada, Alantic Region
• Nova Scotia - Info on various species, including the plover from the Federation of Nova Scotia Naturalists

News Releases

• Endangered Birds Win Right to Keep Homes on Missouri River
  July 12, 2002 - Environmental Defense news
• Bird Habitat Protected in United States
  January 20, 2000 - Defenders of Wildlife news release on critical habitat
• Teen Pleads To Killing Piping Plover
  News release presumably from Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. This news release came to me unsolicited. I have not verified it. If you have knowledge that this is untrue please let me know
• The Piping Plover's Precarious Return to New Hampshire
  New Hampshire Public Radio offers a Real Audio report from July 1997.
• Fireworks vs. Plovers
  Report by Associated Press writer in The Standard Times, March 1997 or News-Times
• Inaction by the Federal Government Imperils Shorebird
  A news release from the Defenders of Wildlife, December 1996
• Endangered shoreline birds double in number locally; federal government eases restrictions
  Report from The Standard Times of Massachusetts, April 1996
• News reports on gull poisoning on the East Coast provided courtesy of The Standard Times of Massachusetts.
  Reports from 5/09/96 5/16/96, 5/18/96, 5/23/96, and 6/6/96
• Are Property Rights Facing Extinction?
  News release from Defenders of Property Rights (hmm...I don't remember any jeopardy Opinion on South Padre Island)
• The Plight of the Piping Plovers
  A news report on Lincoln Park Zoo efforts with some multimedia links. Report from CNN Environment News, September 1995

Other Important Pages

• Dick and Jean Hoffman's Links
  Some overlap between our sites, but it's worth visiting their site cause it's so nice (and it keeps getting better).
• Janet Egan's Piping Plover Page
  She has been a plover warden on Plum Island and has some stories, photos and links.
• John Sooley's Piping Plover Page - the Plover in Newfoundland

Miscellaneous

• Atlantic Piping Plover Recovery Plan
• Piping Plover Literature. List from Atlantic Piping Plover Recovery Plan
• Abstract of article in Wetlands by Nordstrom & Ryan
  INVERTEBRATE ABUNDANCE AT OCCUPIED AND POTENTIAL PIPING PLOVER NESTING SITES: GREAT PLAINS ALKALI WETLANDS VS. THE GREAT LAKES
• Project of the Midcontinent Ecological Service Center by Richard Stiehl
  Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) Model for Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) on Long Island
• Info on upcoming documentary titled A VANISHING MELODY:THE CALL OF THE PIPING PLOVER
• Info from Atlantic Coast Beach Resorts on the plover
• Federal Register - Vol. 61 No. 30 Tuesday, February 13, 1996 p 5568 (Notice)
  Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment and Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit of the Atlantic Coast Piping Plover in Massachusetts -- granted June, 1996

Send comments and info to lfelliott at abisw.org