Piping Plover in Milwaukee

A Piping Plover showed up at McKinley Beach on Tuesday. It stuck around into the next day, but moved on by midday, presumably south. I was down there very late in the evening, with little light. For the most part it hung out in the corner, feeding and walking around. It called a few times, but I think that was because the gulls were getting too close. With about 30 minutes of light left, it moved a little further down the beach and about 20′ from the water’s edge to lay down for the night. It blends right into the sand and even when looking for it, it was nearly impossible to see. A friend sent the band info to the site www.greatlakespipingplover.org for data recording. This is the info he got back, “Thanks for sharing this sighting and photo! This is a 2-year-old female that hatched at Sleeping Bear Dunes. We call her PoNY for her pink, brown and yellow band combo. She had a nest on North Manitou Island at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore this year. Unfortunately, she lost her mate to a Merlin, when her 3 chicks were still very young. The chicks survived for a week and a half but then disappeared. Hopefully she will have better luck next year! It appears she is head south for a rest and vacation for the non-breeding season.” That explains the mid-summer sighting in Milwaukee. While it’s always nice to see these birds in county, it’s too bad this sighting had to be at that expense. Photos below are from 7/2. Enjoy!