Piping Plover Season 2025
Piping Plovers returned again to Wasaga Beach Provincial Park!
2021 fledgling Gotawsi (X, B:O,B – G dot B204) returned to his 2023 and 2024 nesting site on April 24th, 2025. An unnamed female arrived the same day and they paired up very quickly. By May 17th they had a full nest of 4 eggs. Incubation ensued with both performing their duties faithfully. Regrettably, on June 5th Gotawsi was no where to be found and was deemed to have met an untimely end – thought to be predation by a merlin, which is a small falcon. Risk of predation tends to be higher during breeding season. The female, since named Mo, attempted to continue the incubation alone for a couple of days, but had to give up in order to forage for food. A few days later the eggs were collected by Birds Canada for scientific purposes and the protective fencing was removed. Mo has since been seen in Michigan where she has found a new mate. They are showing signs of nesting there. Although they generally breed once per year, plovers will re-nest if their previous nest failed.
Gotawsi’s legacy lives on, however, as two of his 2024 fledglings (X, O: -, Y) are reportedly nesting on the Great Lakes and one of his nest mates (i.e., brother) named Saga is nesting at Presqu’ile for the 4th year.
Gotawsi (c) Neal Mutiger
Further good news from around the province is that there is a second nest at Presqu’ile and a nest at Darlington – all three on Provincial Park property. We look forward to news of these nests in the near future. Ollie has also returned for a third year to his Georgian Bay nesting site on April 22nd, and Patty, his mate from the last two years, arrived on April 28th. They also produced a full nest and on June 9th welcomed a chick who has steadily continued to thrive.
For updates on Ontario nests, please follow Birds Canada’s Ontario Piping Plover Conservation Program social media pages on Facebook and Instagram. Interested volunteers can contact Hannah.Stockford@Ontario.ca
There is good news from the Great Lakes region with a record 82 nests this season – the highest number since populations began to decline in the 1980s.
Educational Panels
With a grant from TD Friends of the Environment, a series of educational panels have been developed and installed in the Plover Hut at Boardwalk #1. These can be viewed when the shutters are open and they provide information about Piping Plovers, protection of habitat, and beach ecology. A duplicate set of panels has also been produced to augment educational activities beyond the beach. Although this year’s nest was lost, the hut will be open when staff and volunteers are available to talk to visitors about plovers and beach ecology. The loss of Gotawsi serves as an illustration of why these birds are so endangered and the many threats they face.
Ploverpalooza
This year’s Ploverpalooza event is scheduled to take place the weekend of July 18th-20th, in Beach Area 1. Tentative times are Friday 12:00pm-6:00pm and Saturday and Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm. Be sure to join us for some fun family activities. Volunteers are needed for this event. To volunteer or for more information, contact Hannah at the above email address. The educational panels on the Plover Hut will be on full display, as will be our Plover Mascot!
Also note that July 18th is free day use in all Provincial Parks in recognition of the Healthy Parks, Healthy People initiative.
For more information and updates about 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
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.