Piping Plovers

Today I got to the beach a little later, about 20 after six. There were already birders there in the parking lot. Dawn was giving us an exact description of the bands on the Plovers so we could make an ID to a specific bird. I took a few minutes to get my gear ready and give Donnie and CiCi and Rob a head start. I also took a few minutes to walk halfway down the pier and find two Sanderlings. It was cooler than the previous day and very comfortable. I walked down the beach which was empty of birds except for a few gulls and terns. Further down the beach I saw the birders stopped and looking through their scopes. They were on a plover. There was a lot of discussion about the exact bands on the birds legs. I photographed it and was able to make out a yellow dot on an orange band. That narrowed it down to three possibilities. After I got home I was able to look at the bands in the photo. I think it wasn’t one of the birds we were looking for because the numbers on the green band were different.

The plovers we were looking for had been released in the South Unit last week. They are from a nesting site near Green Bay Wisconsin that was affected by an outbreak of botulism. These chicks and one adult were saved and brought to Illinois, hoping they could continue their migration south without anymore problems. Everyone is helping to monitor the beach and report any sightings. Dad went down this afternoon and spent a couple of hours with two other birders. They had a Piping Plover with an injured leg. I’m not sure if it was one of the target birds.

After breakfast I stayed home and started an art project. I watched a video yesterday on layering paint so I wanted to try it out. My subject was some leaves from the fading Bleeding Heart plant. I made a light sketch and selected some colors that seemed to match. The leaves had turned greenish yellow and had a variety of colors. I finished it while Dad was at the beach. Besides water colors I used watercolor pencils.

It’s almost time for supper. When Dad went in to Captain Porky’s to get the sandwiches he also bought two pounds of lake perch. Last night he fried them all in the air fryer. It made a lot of fish!! So we are having them again tonight. Can’t wait.