WHY ARE WE INTERESTED IN INTERIOR LEAST TERNS AND PIPING PLOVERS?
Populations of both species across North America declined due to the
- broad-scale alteration of natural river systems
- loss of midstream river nesting habitat
- loss of overwintering habitat
- hunting for the restaurant and millinery trades in the late 1800s and early 1900s
Amount of midstream river sandbar nesting habitat has been reduced by
- invasive plant species
- construction of dams and reservoirs
- river channelization
- bank stabilization
- island armoring
- hydropower generation
- water diversion
Threats to overwintering habitat for both species include
- sea level rise
- global climate change
- residential, industrial, and commercial development
Day-old plover chick running across the sand at Lake McConaughy, NE
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Interior Least Tern in flight
Piping Plover flying across the sandbars of a river bed.
Interior Least Tern
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Adult male plover with chick near water.
Interior Least Tern chick looking for a little shade
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Two 1-day old plover chicks with unhatched egg.
Adult Interior Least Tern and chick
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Day-old plover chick at Lake McConaughy, NE
Interior Least Tern adult and chick.
Weighing Interior Least Tern chick
Interior Least Tern nest with one chick and egg.
Piping Plover feigning a broken wing to draw prey from the plover's nest.
News
Availble Now:
Special Events
- 6 – 7 December 2011, Northern Great Plains Piping Plover Workshop (Omaha, NE)
- 17 – 20 January 2012, Piping Plover and Least Tern Workshop (Shepherdstown, WV)
