Both the eggs and young are so well camouflaged that they are apt to go undetected unless stepped on. When predators or other intruders come close, the young squat motionless on the sand while the parents attempt to attract the attention of the intruders to themselves, often by feigning a broken wing. Surviving young fledge and are flying in about 30 days. However, stormtides, predators, or intruding humans sometimes disrupt nests before the eggs hatch. When this happens, the plovers often renest in the vicinity, and young hatched from these late nesting efforts may not be flying until late August.
Plovers often gather in groups on undisturbed beaches prior to their southward migration.
By early September, both adult and young plovers will have departed for their wintering areas. Commercial, residential, and recreational development has decreased the amount of coastal habitat available for piping plovers to nest and feed. Human disturbance often curtails breeding success. Foot and vehicular traffic may crush nests or young. Excessive disturbance may cause the parents to desert the nest, exposing eggs or chicks to the summer sun and predators.