Silver Sands chicks 22 July 10

On 22 July 10 we returned from a week in Pennsylvania and heard reports that the Silver Sands Piping Plovers had disappeared, perhaps to foul play. We were relieved to find them about 150 paces west of their exclosure area, near the back edge of sand in the first photo. We had heard, then found, an adult (the female). The 3 chicks emerged from the rear downslope of sand and sheltered in the grass. (Photos 3 and 4 show the chicks in the grass--best to zoom in as far as possible). Finally, the mother led the chicks across the sand (hazy photo 2) down to the water's edge and then west towards Fletcher's Creek. By 11:30 AM the beach was getting quite crowded, so the PPs are smart to move to the least peopled section of Silver Sands. We assume the male is around because we saw two adult PPs flying into the marsh when we first reached the beach.