by Arielle Godbout
photo by Trevor Hagan
GRAND BEACH -- Each summer, Matt Tebbutt drives nine hours from his home in Minnesota to Manitoba, where he spends all of June and July at his cabin in Grand Marais. Tebbutt, whose father was originally from Winnipeg, said he'd limit his visit to a couple weeks if it weren't for the piping plovers -- small, white birds that could fit in the palm of his hand. Tebbutt is one of about 60 volunteer guardians who watch over the endangered birds as they nest in the white sand of Grand Beach and this year -- for the first time ever -- at Gimli Beach.
"How often do you get to see an endangered species in its natural habitat?" Tebbutt asked fondly, looking over to where one of this year's chicks scurried across the beach.
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