[mou] Piping & Snowy Plovers

[Benjamin Fritchman]

I went down to see the Snowy Plovers today. As soon as we got past the elm 
trees onto the sand, my mom pointed out a plover on the same spit we were 
on. I put my scope up, and found it to be one of the Snowy Plovers. I 
believe it was the male based on the darkness of its markings. We then 
watched as it flew across the waterway and landed among the grass and rocks. 
Soon it was joined by the two little ones. They soon dissapeared behind some 
rocks, and we walked further on the spit. We found a somewhat early Ruddy 
Turnstone frantically turning over rocks on the spit, but the Snowy Plovers 
were not seen again. Thunder and lighting cut down our search time, and 
being the tallest things out there, we decided to turn back and be satisfied 
with our distant look at the little guys. Walking back, I noticed a very 
light shorebird running around exactly where the Snowy had been not 15 
minutes before. I assumed it was the Snowy again, and I put up my scope to 
look at him again. I got the bird in my scope and realized that it was 
actually a Piping Plover. Maybe this is the same bird that was present just 
north of here in June? There aren't too many chances to see Snowy Plovers 
and Piping Plovers together in the same vicinity in Minnesota. Maybe not 
since a Snowy Plover was seen at Morris Point on Lake of the Woods on July 
11-18, 1982, or Zippel Bay on July 28, 1983.

Ben Fritchman