Even if it wasn’t Father’s Day, I would be safe to shout out to Plover Park’s iconic dads. That’s because piping plover are a dad-centric species. Piping plover moms have been known to show up late, and to take off as early as a few days after the chicks hatch, leaving dad to raise them. I’m not doing a misogyny, that’s just how it is!
But this season is such an epically great time, even the moms are sticking around, and our pairs are killing it!
We’ve made a big deal here about the record number nests, but the number that really matters is how many of those eggs turn into healthy fledges.
So how are we doing? Well, it’s another record season in that regard. So far, the first three nests have fledged, and they’ve fledged all of their chicks. As in, 100%.
Lindsey Buckingham and Goldie Sachs fledged all three of their chicks.
Pedro Pascal & Marty Byrde fledged all four of theirs.
And today, Irwin & Atty fledged all four of theirs!
That’s eleven brand new, extremely healthy piping plovers going out into a world where only a few thousand are left. That’s an unprecedented 100% fledge rate.
And we still have eleven more nests to go. While it’s true that these are some of our most experienced pairs and our most iconic plover dad’s, there is good reason to expect great things from some of our younger pairs too.
I can’t even believe I get to type this up and share it. Iconic.
Happy Father’s Day, Happy Solstice, and Happy Fledge Day!
Say something kind