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Piping Plover
Charadrius melodus
Piping Plover
Click images for larger view. Photo: Robert Epstein

Habitat: Wide, sandy beaches along the northern Great Lakes.

  • Once common along the Great Lakes shoreline, this small shorebird is now a threatened species in Michigan.
  • Remaining pairs nest on open, sandy beaches along the northern Great Lakes.
  • Piping plovers are gray and white with a black neckband. They blend in easily with their surroundings. Piping plovers winter on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts.

Learn more about Piping plovers in Michigan. See: MDNR website

 
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Updated: 11/11/09