Piping Plover - Nebraska Plovers in Winter

As a species Piping Plovers spend the winter on beaches along the Gulf of Mexico, southern Atlantic Coast, and in the Bahamas. However, there is only limited information regarding what specific wintering areas are important to specific populations of Piping Plovers. Color banding has allowed us to track individual plovers that nest along the lower Platte River. This has helped us to gain a better understanding of where these lower Platte River birds are spending the winter. 

Over 16% of the Piping Plovers banded along the lower Platte River have been re-sighted in their winter habitat. Piping Plovers nesting along the lower Platte River are widely distributed in their winter range from the southern tip of Texas to the Florida Keys and all the way up along the Atlantic Coast to South Carolina. We have not received any reports of lower Platte River plovers overwintering in the Bahamas. A majority (90%) of our winter resightings have occurred along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Only 10% of our winter resightings have occurred along the southern Atlantic Coast.