Journal of a Sabbatical
The Plover Warden Diaries

May 28, 1999

lots of loons and least terns too

May 28, 1999
Plum Island
4 common terns
7 double-crested cormorants
1 common loon
3 purple martins
1 Bonaparte's gull
1 herring gull
3 starlings
8 red-throated loons
5 pigeons
3 least terns (at least)

Official Plover Count: 19

Today's Starting Pitcher: Tim Wakefield

Reading: Murder on the Prowl by Rita Mae Brown, Plovers, Snipes, and Sandpipers of the World by Paul A. Johnsgard

It's another sparkling clear day - bright blue sky and bright blue water. The tide is going out. The wind is from the south. A group of 8 red-throated loons provides the day's entertainment. They're all fishing together so close to shore that I can still see the closest three when they are underwater in the curl of the waves. Do loons surf? The red-throated loons hang around for about 2 1/2 hours as does a lone common loon who seems to be wrestling with a really big fish for a really long time. Whenever I'm not speaking with a visitor, I look over at the loons and they're still there having a grand time.

I notice a predator exclosure has been erected just to the south of where I watched the piping plover pair doing the parallel run display last week. So I'll bet that's the pair whose nest site has just gotten enclosed. It's just far enough south of where I am that I can't really see the birds, just the predator exclosure.

Predator exclosures are basically posts with netting on the sides and top to keep both ground and aerial predators (like black-backed gulls) out of the nest. The mesh is big enough for Mom and Dad plover to come and go. The exclosures do help, but the plovers don't necessarily know they're safe inside so if a dog or a fox or something is hassling them they may abandon the nest due to stress even though the dog or fox can't get to the eggs.

Lots of visitors today. All cooperative. Some with lots of questions. One guy asked some really good questions about beach erosion and I got to give my barrier beach sand circulation speech. It was fun to talk about it with somebody who's really interested.

Toward the end of my shift I heard least terns making a fuss. I looked up and I was surrounded by them. They're the first j I've seen this year and I sure hope they plan to stay around and nest. The piping plover nests are more successful when there's a least tern colony in the vicinity. The least terns kick up such a fuss to scare predators away from their nests that they keep 'em away from the plover nests too. Least terns are not shy. I've even had one dive bomb my head! It's a real pleasure to see them here.