On a quick run to Plover Park this evening to check on the recent flooding, I found a new nest. Piping Plover nest 05A.
I couldn’t help but find this one.
Normally, when a Piping Plover has a nest, they don’t want you to find it. So they use a shady tactic known as the “broken wing” trick, where they flap their wings spastically as if they are injured to draw you and your attention away from the nest.
It works great on gulls, but not so good on knowledgeable people. Usually seeing the broken wing is a dead giveaway there is a nest nearby, and not in the direction the PIPL is trying to lead you!
But tonight, I was heading out the inlet when a plover ran in front of me and called for its mate. She came running down from the dune and the two of them ran straight to a small piece of vegetation and stood there looking at me. I was suspicious that maybe she had been with an egg up there, so I took a few steps up the dune and turned to see their reaction. They just stood there, and even drew a little closer together. That’s when I saw it.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. It was the opposite of the broken wing. They ran straight to the nest and showed it to me! Maybe they were preparing to defend it. Maybe they thought they were hiding it. But if you ask me, I think they were just really, really proud of it.
As I walked away to check the front beach, I turned back and noticed he had started incubating his little egg. Normally Piping Plovers won’t start incubating until they have a full clutch of fours eggs. More evidence this little guy is just really, really, enthusiastic.
And as I passed by them on my way home as the sun set, I discovered he was still there, cuddled in his scrape and just admiring his little egg. I don’t even think he noticed me.
I officially love these two. They may be young, they may be inexperienced, and they may not be acting like proper Piping Plovers.
But I’m a firm believer that enthusiasm is our greatest asset. So in that spirit… go get ’em you two!!!!11!