Piping Plovers are small, endangered shorebirds in Manitoba. Its call is described as a "plaintive peep-lo" which made it the perfect name for this blog as it too is a plaintive call, a Call to Action.

10 June 2010

Eggs on the Move

I am pleased to announce that the first ever attempt in Manitoba at moving a nest with a full clutch of four eggs was successfully accomplished yesterday (June 9). Here is how it happened.
I was informed last Friday (June 4) that a move was eminent as last year's Channel birds at Grand Beach had decided to nest on the beach, rather than on the raised dune that had been so successful for them the last two seasons. If a storm rose up, they would surely be flooded out. However, knowing the lake levels were down this year and as it was one of only three nests found across the province, I was hesitant to see any action taken based on speculation that the waters might rise. I asked my boss to hold off so that I might see the situation for myself. She agreed to hold off a few days.

On Tuesday (June 8) I drove up to the Beach with Paul Goossen of the Canadian Wildlife Service. Paul has a great deal of experience with nest moving, having had to perform the task on numerous occasions at Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan. We assessed the situation and came to the conclusion that the nest was well out of reach from any flooding unless it was an exceptional circumstance. Better to leave well enough alone. However, we did select a location where the nest could be moved if need be and Paul showed me, Morgan our STEP student plover guardian and Matt, one of our dedicated volunteer plover guardians, exactly how to move the nest as a last resort. We drove back to Winnipeg secure in our belief that we had made the right decision.

So much for assessments, plans and decisions. By the time we reached Winnipeg a doozy of a storm was rumbling across the Interlake and Lake Winnipeg headed for Grand Beach. I received an urgent text the following morning (June 9) that the water was but three feet away from flooding the nest. Morgan and Matt jumped into action and proceeded with the risky business of attempting to move the nest in less than ideal conditions. I'll save the description of how a move is conducted for another blog, but suffice it to say that Morgan and Matt were able to save the day and nest with a move of about 20 metres to a slight rise on the beach close to the dunes. The plovers accepted the move and new location and were last seen incubating their clutch of eggs in their new surroundings.

Congratulations Morgan and Matt! A job well done in every way. A Manitoba first!

KP