Great Lakes Piping Plovers See a Record Season

Four captive-reared piping plover chicks are released onto the dune shoreline of Tawas Point State Park July 7 by Huron Pines staff member Nick Theisen. Photo courtesy Konnie Spenceley

The Great Lakes welcomed a record 88 breeding pairs of piping plovers for the 2025 season, a good sign that ongoing recovery efforts we’re supporting along the Lake Huron coast are having a positive impact on the endangered shorebird’s population.

Huron Pines staff and our team of volunteer Piping Plover Monitors focused their efforts in Oscoda where one wild chick fledged from a nest on a private beach, and at Tawas Point where seven others were released as captive-reared young birds. (Keep scrolling for a breakdown of this year’s adults and chicks from the region.)

Piping plovers "YoYo" and "Hero" (leg band codes X,O/B:Of,YY and Of,YR:X,O) do a parallel walk, staking out their territories on the dune shore of Tawas Point State Park. Photo courtesy Konnie Spenceley

A female plover, dubbed “GiNGer” (leg band code Of,GN:X,G) strolls the sands of Tawas Point. Photo courtesy Jason Shaw Imaging

Each season brings significant challenges for plovers nesting along the Lake Huron shoreline, including washouts from storms and a constant threat of predators. An adult female was taken by a merlin at Tawas Point State Park, leading to the salvage of her nest by members of the Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team. Those four eggs were hatched by zookeepers at the University of Michigan Biological Station’s captive-rearing facility in Pellston and the fledglings—all males—were released back at Tawas Point on July 7 before an audience of volunteers, state park staff and members of our team, all eager to see the birds return to the wild.

Samantha Nellis, Director of Conservation Science at Huron Pines, brought along her young daughter to see the chicks get released and take their first skittering steps as wild birds. Darting among the dune grasses, the chicks were quickly met by an adult male plover—their father—who greeted them in a playful but territorial manner.

A captive-reared plover chick takes in his wild surroundings for the first time at Tawas Point.

“She told everyone she knows about being there for that moment,” Nellis said about her daughter. “Her favorite part was watching one of the chicks get chased around by his dad. It was a great season and it’s exciting to see their population rebound, especially on the east side where they have been mostly absent until recently.”

Three more captive-reared females, hatched from eggs recovered from an abandoned nest at Sleeping Bear Dunes, were released at Tawas Point Aug. 11.

READ MORE: Michigan’s piping plovers expand to Lake Huron shore amid 40-year breeding record (MLive)

Throughout the season, our 23 volunteer monitors logged a combined 600 hours in all weather conditions on the shore of Lake Huron. They shared information with park visitors about the birds, made sure people and their pets kept out of closed areas, and monitored for predators and other threats to the birds and their nests. Our deepest gratitude goes out to our volunteers for their dedication to piping plover recovery.

Some of our 2025 volunteer Piping Plover Monitors.

We also want to thank the Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team for their ongoing efforts toward plover recovery, Detroit Zoo zookeepers for their contributions at the captive-rearing facility, AuSable Valley Audubon, Michigan DNR, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for coordinating partnership efforts.

Huron Pines' piping plover conservation work is supported by a grant from the Great Lakes Fisheries and Wildlife Restoration Act.

Nesting adults in Oscoda and Tawas (leg band color combinations and nickname)
Of,YR:X,O "YeRO"
Of,GN:X,G "GiNGer"
O,-:X,R (Rdot R212) "Rdot"
X,O/B:Of,YY "YoYo"
X,B:O,- (Bdot B220) "Mo"
Of,BO:X,B "BOB"
O,-:X,P (Rdot, P004) "Tutu"

Oscoda chick
O,-:X,B (Ydot, B289)

4 male chicks, salvaged from Tawas Point as eggs and released at Tawas Point
X,L/O:Of,GG, "LOGG"
X,L/O:Of,YR, "LOYeR"
X,L/O:Of,bO, "LObO"
X,L/O:Of,RB, "ORB"

3 female chicks, salvaged as eggs from an abandoned nest at Sleeping Bear Dunes and released at Tawas Point
X,L/O:Of,YL ,"LOYal"
X,L/O:Of, PG, "LO Miss PiGgY"
X,L/O:Of, YG, "FYG"

unbanded chick 1, "Wild Child"
unbanded chick 2, "Jean Pool"