Friday, June 28, 2019

Co-parenting piping plover chicks, Sandy Point State Reservation

Male piping plover with chick at Sandy Point State Reservation, Massachusetts

According to the field guides, it can be a little challenging to identify the sex of Atlantic Coast piping plovers. The notable difference is that the black brow bar and collar are more "bold" in the males. While I have generally not tried to distinguish this in my plover photography before, I had a unique opportunity to differentiate the mother and father of a parenting pair on a recent trip to Sandy Point State Reservation. This piping plover couple was caring for a brood of four chicks, and both parents were participating the family activities. It was interesting to see them actively trade off responsibilities between the male and female. This offered the chance to directly compare images of the two birds caring for the chicks. And in fact, one did have a much bolder mark between its brows, nearly touching the eyes (the male, pictured above), while the female's was more subtle (pictured below). Wishing the best of luck to these plover parents!

Female piping plover brooding two chicks on Plum Island, Massachusetts


4 comments:

  1. Lovely shots.

    All those Ps in the title made it fun to read :]

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  2. Great pictures - at times the differences described in field guides are very hard to see in the field!

    Stewart M - Jakarta airport, Indonesia!

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