Piping Plover Season 2024
Piping Plovers have returned to Wasaga Beach Provincial Park once again for the 2024 season!
A 2021 Wasaga Beach fledgling, Gotawsi (X,B:O,B (Gdot, B204)), has returned for a second year and found a partner in an unnamed Michigan fledgling (X,B/O/B;B:O,B (Bdot, B147)). They have settled into a nest in Ploverland, adjacent to the main section of Beach Area One. Gotawsi is well focused this year and the pair are performing their incubation duties according to expectations. Hatching is anticipated around Father’s Day weekend.
In more good news, Ontario has seen an increase in Piping Plover nests this season! Patty and Ollie have once again found each other and settled along the shores of Georgian Bay. Patty is another Wasaga Beach fledgling from 2020 and Ollie hatched from the neighbouring Tiny Township in 2021. Darlington Provincial Park and Presqu’ile Provincial Park have also welcomed Piping Plovers back to their beaches with nests this season. Presqu’ile Provincial Park’s male is Saga, a Wasaga Beach fledgling from 2021, who is also the brother of Gotawsi. For more updates on these nests throughout the season, please follow Birds Canada’s Ontario Piping Plover Conservation Program’s social media pages on @OntarioPlover on Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter.
Piping Plover volunteer training is underway and volunteers will begin shifts at Beach Area One starting the May long weekend. New volunteers are always welcomed! The next training session will take place at Nancy Island Historic Site on Tuesday, June 11th from 6:00pm-7:30pm.
Interested volunteers can contact Lindsey.Hemphill@ontario.ca
Ploverpalooza
This year’s Ploverpalooza event is scheduled to take place from July 19th-21st in Beach Area One. Be sure to join us for some fun family activities. Volunteers are needed for this event. Also note that July 19th is free day use in all Provincial Parks in recognition of the Healthy Parks, Healthy People initiative.
June 28, 2024
Gotawsi and his mate, who has been named Milie, successfully completed incubation. One June 11th all four eggs hatched and all four chicks have been thriving well. Both parents have been very attentive watching them closely, warding off gulls and brooding the chicks when they needed some warmth. One June 20th the chicks received their leg band combinations and as of now, in their third week of life they are doing well, even experimenting with flapping their tiny wings. As is completely normal, on June 19th Millie left for other feeding grounds in preparation for her migration and Gotawsi remains to see the chicks through the point of independence in a little over a couple of weeks from now.
August 2024
Unfortunately on June 30th, one chick was lost at 19 days. This was a blow as it was close to being a fledgling. However, the other three chicks continued to do well and Gotawsi remained to see them through to independence. He was noted to be giving them a lot more space as they learned to fly and began to spread out. Around mid July he took off to prepare for his own migration. He had proved to be a very diligent parent.
The three fledglings continued to spread their wings, exploring several other sections of beach as they also prepared to migrate south. The fledgling from the Georgian Bay nest also began exploring and managed to locate the Wasaga Beach fledglings and link up with them.
Ontario Parks – Tivon Martin
For more information and updates about Ontario Piping Plovers, visit the Ontario Piping Plover Conservation Program.
For more information about the Great Lakes population in general (USA), visit Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort.