Please help get the word out that the Good Harbor Piping Plover chicks have hatched and that they are extremely vulnerable. Feel free to share these photos on social media.
Monday Day One: Judging from when the nest was first spotted, I had a feeling the Plovers were going to hatch Monday. The morning was drizzly and foggy and it was difficult to see into the nest but there appeared to be more activity than usual. By the time I returned later in the afternoon it was a wonder and joy to see all three Plovers had hatched!
Unlike songbirds, the Piping Plover chicks leave the nest almost immediately. They are not fed by the adults and begin to forage for insects in the sand soon after hatching. Although only hours old, they can run, and run they do, looking mostly like jet propelled cotton balls.
The chicks snuggle under Dad. Both Mom and Dad take turns guarding the nestlings, in thirty minute intervals, just as they did when on the nest waiting for the babies to hatch.
Dad (left) and Mom (right) changing guard.
Tuesday Day Two:
Miniature rockets zooming over miniature sand mounds, running so fast, they’ll often land in a face plant. I captured a somersault on film!
Nature’s camouflage in hues of sand and dune.
Mom and chick, all three survive day number two!
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Wednesday Day Three:
Dad and chick, the eyes appear to be opening wider.
The downy feathers are fluffing out and growing thicker.
The cordoned off area at Good Harbor has not been raked since the Plover nesting site was established, which has created small tumbles of dried grass and seaweed. This natural debris creates the ideal insect habitat. Insects are the primary food of the Piping Plover chicks.
Thursday Day Four:
No longer in the roped off area and heading toward the shoreline, much to the dismay of Mom and Dad.
The nest is abandoned but depressions in the sand, when nestled under Dad or Mom, offer camouflage and shelter from predators.
First sips at the water’s edge
Good Morning Gloucester 
Thanks for this update! Stay safe babies!
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Very welcome sagamorgan š
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Great photos, Kim, The babies are adorable!
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Thank you Suzanne, aren’t they just the cutest!!
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Thank you for educating us about these precious visitors. I want to go see them; do you have advice for the curious? I do have binoculars, so I can observe from a distance.
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Binoculars are great Heidi because being too close puts Mom and Dad in a panic. It you hear a lot of piping-type chirping, pull back further away, that is their warning call. Sitting is less threatening than standing. They are active all day long so it doesn’t really matter what time you go. They are leaving the roped off area, but return to it. Because the beach has not been raked in the cordoned off section, there are tons of insects, which is what the chicks eat and that is why they continue to return to that specific area. I hope you see them š
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Adorbs level to eleven. You can tell who is mom and dad, can you tell the difference between the three puff balls? Because we need to name them. š
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Our sweet neighborhood kids did name them — Joy and Joey are the parents, and the chicks are Puff Puff, Fluff Fluff, and Tootsie Pop š
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Kim Smith.. BEAUTIFUL photograph’s and updates. Thank you so much for the lesson on this lovely species
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Thank you Sarah for your kind comments š
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Was back there on vacation for the fourth and saw the roped off area. Sorry I missed them hatch! Great article and excellent pictures!
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Thank you Pam, has been a wonderful experience and sorry you missed.
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Very nice and all in the family togetherness imagine the sunrises and sunsets they see from beach level:-) Dave & Kim š
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Thanks so much Dave and Kim.
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people should be educated about harming or trying to harm seagulls as well as plovers on our beaches. Parents think it’s amusing to have their children chase and throw bottles, rocks, shoes etc. at these birds
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I agree, it is not at all amusing to torture any of the birds on the beach. People think of mountains, woods, and lakes as nature, but for some reason the connection isn’t made about our beaches and the wild creatures found there.
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Thanks for the great pictures and all the information on these precious birds.
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Thanks so much Karyl for writing š
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