At long last, Saskatchewan鈥檚 provincial parks and lakeside campsites have opened throughout the province.
Please remember to keep an eye out for other families who are out for a stroll as Piping Plover chicks and their parents may be wandering the shoreline.
鈥淎s we return to our favourite beaches, it鈥檚 a great time to see Piping Plovers. This endangered species has some of its highest numbers of breeding pairs in Saskatchewan. Mid-June is a time to be watchful as late nesters may still be incubating eggs or have young chicks toddling along the water鈥檚 edge, making them vulnerable to trampling,鈥� explained Shirley Bartz, Habitat Stewardship Coordinator with Nature Saskatchewan.
鈥淧iping Plovers鈥� best defence is camouflage. Nests are just a shallow depression lined with small stones, eggs look like speckled rocks and chicks blend in with the beach sand until we see them run. Although chicks can walk and run within hours of hatching, they are not able to fly for the first couple of weeks out of the nest,鈥� Bartz added. 鈥淪o, to give Piping Plovers the best chance possible, we are asking beachgoers and anglers to keep watch around their feet and along shorelines, like those at Lake Diefenbaker.鈥�
Piping Plovers are small shorebirds identified by their distinct markings with black bands on their foreheads and single black bands around their necks. They also have bright white bellies, grey-brown backs, orange legs and orange beaks with black tips.
Their look-a-like cousin is the Killdeer, which is larger and browner in colour. The Killdeer has two black bands around their necks instead of one.
鈥淟ike the Killdeer, Piping Plovers have a broken wing display around their nests: they pretend to be injured to draw potential predators away from their nest. But it is all an act and the bird will fly back to its chicks once it has lured you far enough away,鈥� Bartz said.
Between now and early August, Piping Plovers will be eating as much as possible in an attempt to build up body fat to fuel their 3,500-kilometre flight back to the Gulf of Mexico, where they鈥檒l spend the winter.
鈥淪ince Saskatchewan has the highest numbers of breeding Piping Plovers in Canada, we feel a great responsibility to give these endangered shorebirds the best chance possible for breeding success before their long journey south,鈥� Bartz further stated.
