Jennifer Huang, Mount Prospect School
Somerset County
Piping plover. Jennifer Huang
Piping Plover
Hi. I am a piping plover, a very special bird that needs protection. So you know how to spot us, we are just about 18 cm tall, and are very pale colored. We are pale gray in the upper parts, whitish near the stomach, and have a black neck and breast band. We also have a white forehead with a black bar across the forecrown, and an orange beak tipped in black.
I want people to know that we are dependant on wide, sandy habitats like beaches and inland flats for survival. The loss of sandy beaches and lakeshores due to recreational, residential, and commercial development has reduced out habitat. People step on our eggs and disturb us. Also, some kids dig in the sand, find our eggs, and take them home. People are killing my species by doing that!
Not to brag, but we are very important and serve as a barometer for the well being of the beach. The most important role we serve in our ecosystem is that we are an umbrella species. Our habitat shelters a number of other animals in the ecosystem as well. We have an enormous range and share our habitat with American avocets, lesser nighthawks, great horned owls, and many more. Protecting our habitat will protect the home of many other species!
What you can do to protect us is to keep tourists from stepping on our nests by restricting them from getting near our nesting areas. Just in case you don’t know where we nest, we stay near sandy beaches, barrier islands, alkali lakes, and sand or gravel pits. You should also try not to harm plants near out habitat and keep any pets on a leash.
Thank you for listening to me and for every single effort you will make to protect us.
Written by: Jennifer Huang
Mount Prospect School
Basking Ridge, NJ
Teacher: Mrs. Sloan Scully