Tag Archives: Piping Plover

Piping Plover, July 27, 2022

Piping Plover

Piping Plover (click to see the larger version)

A juvenile Piping Plover was at Montrose Beach on July 26 and 27. Montrose Beach is best known as the home of Monty and Rose, but it also hosts migrant Piping Plovers that are going to or coming from other parts of the Great Lakes and possibly the Great Plains. This Piping Plover was not banded, so where it came from is unknowable.

Imani Update, June 27, 2022

Imani the Piping Plover

Imani (click to see the larger version)

Imani, the young male Piping Plover and son of Rose and Monty, was still at Montrose in late June. His behavior has changed dramatically however. In late May and early June we would often hear him calling before we saw him and his slow motion flight display over the Dunes was an aerodynamic sight to behold. He was feeling his oats and ready to start a family and carry on Monty and Rose’s lineage. By late June the displaying and aggressive behavior towards other birds had stopped. He became harder to find and even disappeared for a few days. A female Piping Plover never showed up, which is probably the reason for Imani’s more subdued behavior. How long he will stay at Montrose is uncertain. Without a mate and the potential for a family he doesn’t have much incentive to hang around. The good news is that Imani is young, only about a year old, and there’s always next year.

Imani the Beachmaster

Piping Plover Imani confronting a Killdeer

Imani confronting a Killdeer (click to see the larger version)

Imani the Piping Plover confronted a Killdeer on the morning of June 7, 2022. Standing erect with chest puffed out he showed the larger Killdeer who the boss of the beach is. Imani is being hyper territorial, performing display flights over the Dunes, calling frequently, and chasing other birds who dare to enter his space. This aggressive behavior is an encouraging sign. It shows he has staked out the Dunes and is ready and able to defend it. The only missing element now is a female Piping Plover. If she shows up she’ll have a worthy partner in Imani.

Monty would be proud of his son.

June 3, 2022

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Olive-sided Flycatcher (click to see the larger version)

A sample of birds from Montrose on June 3. This is why you should keep birding in June

Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Snowy Plover
Piping Plover
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Franklin’s Gull
Great Egret
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Orchard Oriole
Dickcissel

Lots of photos are on my eBird checklist for the day, URL below.

eBird Checklist
June 3, 2022

Return of Imani, May 26, 2022

Imani, the male Piping Plover and son of Rose and Monty

Imani, the male Piping Plover and son of Rose and Monty (click to see the larger version)

Talk about fortuitous, and funny. Imani, the male Piping Plover and son of Monty and Rose, was feeding on the long fishing pier on May 26. This is common behavior for shorebirds at Montrose (Monty and Rose would do the same thing there). These shorebirds like to feed on the hordes of midges that gather on the pier. Easy pickings. When I saw Imani on the pier I walked out to look at and photograph him. I took lots of pics and the best one happened by accident when he walked across and stopped briefly on one of the “no diving” glyphs painted on the pier.

Rose and Monty are gone but if a female Piping Plover finds her way to Montrose, the cycle could start anew.