In the heart of Green Bay, an unexpected revival is underway as the piping plover, one of North America’s rarest shorebirds, makes a celebrated return. This small bird, once nearly vanished from the Great Lakes region, is now finding its way back to its ancestral nesting grounds, thanks to dedicated conservation efforts.
Piping plovers are tiny, sandy beach-dwelling birds that historically flocked to the Great Lakes, with over 800 pairs calling it home. However, with habitat loss due to beach development and erosion, their numbers plummeted, leading to their classification as an endangered species in 1985. At that time, only around a dozen pairs remained in the region.
In recent years, a remarkable recovery has been observed, particularly on Cat Island near Green Bay. For ten consecutive years, these birds have returned to nest, signaling a positive shift driven by conservation efforts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and local birding enthusiasts.
Tom Prestby, Wisconsin’s conservation manager for Audubon Great Lakes, remarked on the consistent presence of these birds on Cat Island: “In the last decade, we’ve had an average of about four pairs out there every year. And then every year they’ve fledged at least some chicks successfully.”
The resurgence traces back to the summer of 2015 when Prestby and his team spotted a pair of plovers on Cat Island. Their optimism bore fruit the following year, marking the first recorded breeding in Brown County and the bay area in 75 years.
Volunteers come together
Monitoring this population’s growth is a team of volunteers organized by Prestby, who keep a watchful eye on these birds. The group includes students, Department of Natural Resources staff, and bird enthusiasts, all working together to document nesting activities and ensure chick survival.
Volunteers are out daily, observing and recording bird behavior, pairing, and chick counts. Their vigilance has been crucial, with instances of volunteers deterring predators or assisting injured chicks, like the one that had a burr stuck to its foot.
Jade Arneson, a biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, highlighted the importance of these efforts: “That bird likely wouldn’t have survived without that intervention.”
A conservation success story
The rebound of piping plovers is a beacon of hope for conservationists. As an “indicator species,” their success reflects the health of the entire Great Lakes ecosystem.
The goal is to achieve 150 pairs across the region, with at least 50 outside Michigan. This year, the count reached 98 pairs, the highest in decades. Arneson stresses the importance of habitat protection and restoration in their recovery plan.
The Cat Island Restoration Project has been pivotal, with efforts starting in 2012 to rebuild the islands using dredged sand. These efforts have provided the plovers with the undisturbed habitats they need.
As the nesting season concludes, the plovers prepare for their journey south, spending winters along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. “Our birds that breed up here in Green Bay and across the Great Lakes region are spending their winters along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts,” said Arneson.
