by Meaghan Lyon, Wildlife Biologist
Our infamous Piping Plover pair, Joey and Hamlet, officially have a nest!
Joey (the male), and Hamlet (the female) were seen exhibiting breeding behavior for weeks since arriving back to their nesting grounds. The pair had been favoring a spot recently improved with habitat enhancements that included removing dense American beach grass and adding shell cover.
Piping Plover nests look like shallow depressions in the sand, sometimes lined with shells, and are known as scrapes for the scraping action that male plovers do with their legs to make a small hole. Joey started scraping in mid April but no copulation was observed. Hamlet laid her first egg on April 25 and the pair have been staying close by to the nest.
Typically plovers start incubating their eggs when the nest is at full clutch (which is four eggs total). A new egg will be laid every other day until the clutch reaches four eggs and then it’s about a month until the nest hatches!
Stay tuned for nest updates throughout the season!
Tags: Conserve Wildlife Foundation, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, new jersey wildlife, Piping Plovers, wildlife