The 3 to 4 eggs are cream-colored with dark brown flecks evenly distributed over the surface. Both the male and female incubate the eggs. The eggs hatch in 27 days, with the young leaving the nest within hours of hatching. The young fledge in 28 days but continue to stay with the adults through migration. Birds that lose their nests and young will renest into early July.
Plovers are able to breed in their first year.
The development of the shoreline for recreation has limited the number of available piping plover nest sites. Beach stabilization projects have reduced the quality of the remaining sites, forcing the birds to nest in areas with greater vegetation and increased human disturbances. Vegetation provides cover for, and human activities encourage the presence of, predators such as dogs, cats, rats, raccoons and skunks. In the late 1800s, unrestricted market hunting for the millinery trade devastated the piping plover population on the Atlantic coast. Not only were the feathers used to adorn women's hats, but the birds were also used for human consumption.