The Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) has achieved a celebrity status due to an intense conservation effort following its designation as a threatened/endangered species in Jan. 1986 (U.S.F.W.S. 1986). A proliferation of research has detailed aspects of the species’ breeding biology and status, yet little attention has been directed towards understanding its winter ecology and distribution. The Piping Plover recovery plans (i.e., representing the Atlantic and Great Lakes/Great Plains breeding populations) have stressed the need to determine the critical wintering areas so that habitat management and protection measures can be considered. Recently, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in conjunction with the Auburn University Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit completed an extensive survey of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts to locate the major wintering areas of the Piping Plover. Alabama was identified as an important component in the species’ winter range.
Author: Janice Nicholls
Volume Number: 35 Year Published: 1988
Issue Number: 2-3
Page Number: 18
Link to article: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/1988/Vol 35 No. 2 ,3_1988_p18-19.pdf
Link to the full issue of BirdLife: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/1988/Vol 35 No. 2 ,3_1988.pdf
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