[mou] Piping Plovers still in Duluth....

[SCmzd at aol.com]

Many thanks go to Peder Svingen for his recent postings on the presence  of 
piping plover at Minnesota Point, Duluth, MN, (22nd street access to the  
lake.)  Today I observed two piping plovers at this location.  Today  was by the 
far the highlight of spring migration so far for me because of the  time I got 
to watch these precious birds.  I'm assuming that there is one  male and one 
female today, based on their interactions:)
Now I have never observed this species copulating before, but I think it's  a 
pretty safe bet that thats what was going on today.  Amazing really, they  
would call frequently to each other, they would land next to one another and  
fluff up their chest feathers, the "female" appeared to be looking for a  
suitable nesting place, trying several different depressions on for minutes at a  
time.  Also sad in a way, to realise what has been lost with the decline of  
this species in this area.  Even if these two did try to nest on the point,  I 
doubt very much that their efforts would be successful due to the human and  
canine traffic alone, (and yes I do include myself in the human impact).   I've 
posted a picture of one of the birds in "recently seen" on MOU, and I  will 
also try to post a picture of lesser quality which shows both birds in  
"showcase".  Most interesting was the displaying that would go on when the  two birds 
would come in close contact with one another.  You can see a  little bit of 
that in the picture that I will post of the two birds, notice the  flared tail of 
the bird in the background....Anyway, I'm completely stoked now  and my sleep 
has been suffering significantly due to the excitement that is  spring 
migration.  Also, the blue jays are moving up the shore in mass  today with 
impressive numbers seen this morning.  Happy Birding, Shawn  Zierman.



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