Laura Erickson's For the Birds

This vulnerable species, like the Snowy Plover, depends on undisturbed sand beaches and, in the Upper Midwest population, on mudflats and sandflats for nesting and feeding. It pats the sand with a foot when foraging for a variety of invertebrates.

The Great Lakes population of Piping Plovers was listed as endangered in 1986, when the Atlantic Coast and Northern Great Lakes populations were listed as threatened. The last year plovers attempted to nest in the Duluth harbor was 1985.

As much as I love taking my dog Pip on birding outings, NO dogs should be allowed on beaches where plovers may be nesting. Even leashed dogs scare them, and these poor birds have no choice but to nest on beaches. We have alternative places for walking our dogs.