We checked each nesting territory weekly, from remote observation points, to avoid disturbing birds. Each plover pair was monitored until its nesting effort failed and territory was abandoned, or chicks hatched and reached fledging age. Sarah Dooling checks performance of an electric mesh barrier fence at Appam Lake. In flight they flash a white rump and white wing bars. During non-breeding season, black bands and bill colors fade.
Young plovers resemble the winter plumage of their parents until the following spring.
I could no longer ignore the deerfly stings on my hands and incessant buzzing near my covered ears. As I shifted position, an avocet flying overhead became a screaming aerial acrobat, lunging for my head with defiance and belligerence. Alarm notes rose from the shore as plover adults called to their young. Snuggled tight against a rock, one chick became indistinguishable from the peppered pattern of sand, gravel, and rock. Another chick laid motionless in a tuft of grass.