Piping Plover: Super Power Confidence

In this episode of 'Rarefied,' host Meredith Meeker takes listeners on a journey to the beach to learn about the elusive and endangered piping plover. Despite its vulnerability, this small shorebird wins hearts with its charming appearance and behaviors. Meredith is joined by Sydney Shepherd, the coordinator of the Ontario piping plover conservation program with Birds Canada. Sydney shares insights into the dedicated conservation efforts, including banding, monitoring, and habitat protection, that aim to secure the future of this species. They discuss the bird's breeding habits, the threats it faces, and how volunteers and the public can aid in its preservation. This episode not only highlights the scientific and hands-on efforts involved in saving the piping plover but also emphasizes the broader importance of community involvement and ecological awareness.

Report Piping Plover Sightings to: ontarioplovers@birdscanada.org

 Sign-up for the Ontario Piping Plover Newsletter and to become a nest monitor volunteer https://mailchi.mp/63b4c87c5923/piping-plover-volunteers-and-newsletter

00:00 Introduction to the Podcast

00:35 Meet the Piping Plover

01:31 Piping Plover Conservation Efforts

01:58 Interview with Sydney Shepherd

02:37 Piping Plover Behavior and Habitat

07:45 Threats to Piping Plovers

10:21 How You Can Help

14:24 Volunteer Efforts and Success Stories

22:37 Personal Stories and Experiences

40:55 Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser

Transcript

Theme Song 0:00

In every stream, in every tree, a story lives, a legacy. Let's listen close, let's take a stand, to keep the wild across the land. In every stream, in every tree, a story lives, a legacy.

Meredith 0:23

Welcoming you found us, but the adventure begin. This is verified the podcast where we're going to learn to love some of our barest and most imperiled species. I'm your host, Meredith Meeker. And today, even though we are in the middle of a polar vortex, you better put on your sunscreen. Because we're hitting the beach and we're meeting the piping plover. This bird might actually be my nemesis. I have gotten out on multiple birdie excursions with the hope of seeing a piping plover. And even though the beaches where they nest are well-known. And that takes a lot of guesswork out of looking for these birds. I still haven't seen one in the wild. In theory, it should be an easy bird for me to see. But it's not just that it's rare. That makes it hard to find. We'll also later learn that its camouflage is so good. But after this episode, I am even more determined to see when the summer. And even if you're not here in Ontario, don't worry. This bird is found both in the U S and Canada and winters even further south in Mexico and on the islands in the Caribbean. Unfortunately globally and both in Canada and the United States, its population is vulnerable. It's critically imperiled in many states and provinces. And in Ontario, it's considered to be endangered, which is actually an improvement since it was once extirpated from the province. And you couldn't find a single piping plover in Ontario. There are many organizations and people working hard to secure the future for the piping plover. And we are lucky to have Sydney shepherd here to chat this. Cindy is the coordinator of the Ontario piping clever conservation program with birds, Canada. In 2021, Sydney worked as a piping plover student at Darlington provincial park. And absolutely fell in love with the species she then joined birds, Canada, Ontario piping plover team in 2022. And it's grateful to spend every day working towards conserving this adorable species. Her fluffer lover status is definitely cemented in this episode. And I hope yours is too. So let's get into it. Awesome. And we are talking about the piping plover today. Very exciting. People may or may not be familiar with it. So piping plover, what is it and what does it look like?

Sydney Shepherd 2:48

so piping plover are a small shorebird species and they might be one of the cutest birds to ever exist and maybe I'm biased in saying that, but I think a lot of other folks will agree as well. So they are a small shorebird, smaller than my hand, the adults, and they've got sandy color on their upper white bellies, a nice bold Necklace, a bold forehead these cute little orange beaks and these orange little legs. And when you see them, or sometimes you don't see them because they camouflage in so well, when you do see them, they'll be running around on the beach kind of chasing after food and, and they have a very adorable behavior that way.

Meredith 3:25

So, cute little shorebird, I think, you know, from your description, sounds like it's safe to say that you're a plever lover.

Sydney Shepherd 3:32

Yes, Plover Lover, indeed.

Meredith 3:34

Do you have that sticker anywhere? I've seen those on like the backs of car and I'm like, that must be a volunteer.

Sydney Shepherd 3:39

no, actually, there's an organization in Ontario based out of Sable Beach called the Plever Lovers. And so they've got some really good messaging and logos and stuff to share. It's good stuff. Yeah,

Meredith 3:59

What are, what are these birds doing when they're here in Ontario? Yeah.

Sydney Shepherd 4:09

grounds for about 4 to 5 months out of the year and then down south for the other 7 or 8. But when they're here, They are typically found on sandy beaches with some pebbles, a little bit of vegetation for them to hide behind, you know, large logs and other features like that, again, for camouflage and hiding purposes. But you can find them running around on the beach, trying to attract mates. The males will arrive first around late April, early May, and they'll

Meredith 4:41

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Sydney Shepherd 4:58

Their favorite scrape that

Meredith 5:00

I'm going to talk about and it's been kind of a long, long time since I've had a uh uh and very much.

Sydney Shepherd 5:19

of hatching. So, you know, very vulnerable little birds, unlike robins, they don't stay in the nest and wait for their parents to come back and feed them. They're up doing it by themselves. Right themselves, but they'll be running around on the shoreline feeding on bugs and small invertebrates in the sand and then 23 days later those little chicks will start to develop flight feathers and they'll be able to sustain short distance flights and then the Season comes to an end those birds will fly down south and we wait those seven eight months for it to begin all over again

Meredith 5:55

Sounds like a cute bird with some cute behaviors to top it all off.

Sydney Shepherd 5:59

the chicks are one of the cutest things you might ever see, but even the adults, they have these unique displays and mating dances and whatnot. So they have some quirky personality traits that I hope everybody gets the chance to see one day.

Meredith 6:15

And did the males actually stick around? I did help with the chicks after they've hatched.

Sydney Shepherd 6:20

actually the males stick around the longest. So, you know, the female invests a lot of energy in creating these eggs and laying the eggs. And they share about 50, 50 duties when it comes to incubation. But because the female put in a lot of that work creating the eggs, she leaves early. So she begins her migration South about. One to two weeks sometimes after the chicks hatch, and typically it'll be dad that sticks around to the end, making sure that the chicks grow big and strong, they learn how to fly, you know, really learn how to be a bird.

Meredith 6:54

I think more people need to know about this because I feel like in the animal kingdom, dads can get a pretty bad rap for piecing out really early, but these guys are sticking around.

Sydney Shepherd 7:04

I don't forget like that 50 50 50 incubation duty is a really cool thing that that these plovers do. That's not not that it's not typical in the animal kingdom, but it is definitely not something shared by all species.

Meredith 7:16

Yeah, I mostly work with ducks and male ducks don't stick around quite as much as the plovers do.

Sydney Shepherd 7:23

yeah,

Meredith 7:24

I love that.

Sydney Shepherd 7:25

me too.

Meredith 7:25

And feel like maybe plovers haven't figured out, so they're down south. During cold months here in Canada, and then they come back and they enjoy our beautiful beaches, which no shortage of here in Canada, but there is a shortage of plumbers. So, why are these guys at risk? Because, like I said, we don't have a shortage of beaches. Is it a shortage of the right kind of beaches?

Sydney Shepherd 7:52

Yeah, it is. It's kind of well, it's many things for piping plover. One of the biggest threats is habitat loss and degradation. So, you know, like you said, there's no shortage of beaches, but are sort of shortening our beaches in some ways we are developing or hardening our shorelines. We're changing the shorelines. You know, Away from preferred piping plover habitat or more natural style habitats that are able to support these very vulnerable species. Piping plover, like I mentioned earlier, they nest on sandy shores with pebbles and large features like driftwood that they can hide behind. And oftentimes humans, when they like to recreate on beaches, prefer a beach that doesn't have those. of substrates. We want just the white sand beaches that mimic what we believe to be A Bahamas style beach. And so we are unfortunately degrading the available habitat for piping plovers in most, most cases, there are still lots of beaches here in Ontario that can support them and that do meet that criteria. But there are some other things that impact Conservation. And, But many times when folks are on beaches, we forget about the wildlife that we're sharing it with.

Meredith 9:48

Okay.

Sydney Shepherd 10:12

threats to them. But you know, there's also many ways that we can be supportive and helpful for them too.

Meredith 10:19

Well, let's talk about that. Like, people listening, how can they help the piping plover? Is it, well, I've heard, you know, one of the other big things about beaches, people love to bring their dogs to beaches. People don't always have their dogs on leash. Maybe it's not just a piping plover issue, but a lot of shorebirds can be disturbed by off leash dogs. Is that an easy win? Like, keep your dogs on leash.

Sydney Shepherd 10:41

no, that's that's a big one for sure. And it kind of goes with the, you know, that last thing that I said there, human disturbance and a human human brought friends and pets and those types of things when dogs might run around off leash or sometimes even on leash. Again, it impacts the regular behavior of piping plover. And so they might. They might be spending more time tucked away and hiding rather than building up their energy reserves or being vigilant against predators in the area. So keeping your dog on leash at beaches where dogs might be allowed or some beaches, you know, they, they do have municipal or, or rules against bringing pets on beaches at all. So just following those types of guidelines is one way you can support piping plover and other short birds that might be nesting or using those spaces as well.

Meredith 11:25

What are some of the other actions? So, my dog's on leash, we're only at municipal beaches that allow them. What other kinds of actions should I be taking if I want to help the piping plover?

Sydney Shepherd 11:35

again, piping plover conservation really goes with all species conservation. So these action items are good things to take no matter where you go, whether you're on a breeding piping plover beach or just a beach But not feeding wildlife is another big one, too. So when humans bring our, you know, yummy beach picnics and snacks and all that type of thing, often we'll see. birds like gulls flock to those areas and try and get a little bit of our snack. And that is because some people are actively feeding them and these birds are getting used to being in that area and seeking these types of foods. these birds now being drawn to the area, there's

Meredith 12:13

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Sydney Shepherd 12:33

plover. So make sure that you keep food to yourself and clean up after by throwing your food and the designated garbage spots when you leave.

Meredith 12:42

Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.

Sydney Shepherd 12:59

too. So on piping plover beaches, there will. bee fencing and signage that explains, you know, you are at a very cool site. You're at one of the few piping plover nesting areas in Ontario. So make sure you respect all those types of beach rules and give the birds lots of space to be birds.

Meredith 13:18

These breeding beaches are fairly well known,

Sydney Shepherd 13:22

Yes.

Meredith 13:23

like, what are those spots because it's public. It's not a secret species. We're not worried about, like, the pet trade really so much coming into it. Taking these birds. So awareness is a good thing. So where are these birds breeding?

Sydney Shepherd 13:35

think it's super funny that these birds tend to choose the busiest spots in Ontario. Definitely the busiest beaches that we have in Ontario. So for the past few years, we've had breeding at sites like Wasaga Beach Provincial Park and Darlington Provincial Park. Those sites get millions of visitors a year. So yeah, we're not hiding anything. You'll definitely see lots of signage and information and often there'll be staff and volunteers right there at the breeding site as well to give beachgoers information about how they can positively interact with piping plover and share that space.

Meredith 14:10

I used to live not too far from Darlington Park, and I remember people being really, really proud that Pipe and Plovers were still breeding at this beach and the volunteers were very enthusiastic. So how are volunteers helping with the conservation? What are they doing?

Sydney Shepherd 14:30

are really the core of piping cover conservation here in Ontario and across the Great Lakes region. They help collect data. They were out there monitoring these sites every single day, collecting data on things like natural and human influence threats. And that data is then used by Scientists and partners to inform our management strategies and also, you know, change our management strategies on the fly. If we see that 1 year, we're dealing with more mink, for example, which is actually something that Darlington volunteers did help us identify a few years ago. They were seeing. There was a lot of mink that year. And so we Implemented mink fencing as one of our adaptive management

Meredith 15:10

Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.

Sydney Shepherd 15:30

they spend a lot of time engaging with the public. They'll do on the ground outreach where it matters most, most when people are physically on the beach and sharing that space with piping plover already. So they're able to, you know, tell beach goers all these cool, fun facts that they wouldn't otherwise have known. But then also how they can go on and, and support the birds there too.

Meredith 15:53

You need to be a good birder to be a volunteer, or what are the, who could be a volunteer? Take care.

Sydney Shepherd 16:00

a volunteer. I think being a good birder sometimes draws in volunteers because birders already like to, you know, be involved in that community. But if you've got a passion for. helping support endangered species and a willingness to learn. We will train volunteers to handle that type of scenario. You know, just somebody who wants to be outdoors in the sun, maybe likes to interact with the public and, and share facts, but anybody can be a piping clever volunteer and we love to see more folks join our program.

Meredith 16:34

Awesome, and I'm sure we will link some perhaps volunteer pages of people want to sign up after listening to this episode. They're like, so into it. They're like, I want to be a plover lover too.

Sydney Shepherd 16:45

We'd love to see more folks.

Meredith 16:47

So, you mentioned you don't have to be a birder, but like, sometimes birders are drawn to these opportunities because they already have a

Sydney Shepherd 16:53

Yeah.

Meredith 16:55

in them. Do you find the birding community helpful to the work that you're doing in conservation? so much. What is it again? I'll be on the next call. That's awesome. Thanks, Jeff.

Sydney Shepherd 17:15

is, and they've got their phone out and they're collecting a checklist of all the species they see and reporting it to eBird. Well, thanks to that, those folks may help me identify where and when a piping plover first arrives in the spring, and maybe it's at a site that we're expecting them to be at, like Wasega or Darlington, or maybe it's at a new beach that we wouldn't have otherwise thought to check at because we haven't been there that week or, or whatnot. So, you know, Birders all over help us identify

Meredith 17:43

Yeah, I'm a birder and I've been out on a couple of these beaches looking for piping plover. And I do love that you said this is what they look like if you can see them. I have yet to see one, even though I have known. They've been on that beach and I've missed them by like minutes because either they're moved further down the beach because also like you said There's fencing you need to respect it So they've either moved to a vantage point where you can't see from the accessible part of the beach Or they're just so good at camouflage

Sydney Shepherd 18:26

They're very, very good at camouflage, and especially on beach sites like Darlington where, you know, there's a lot more pebble and rock their body plumage. Their color is just it's that's what it's meant for. It's meant to stay out of the eyes of predators and humans. So it's yeah, they're, they're good at what they do.

Meredith 18:46

And so they we kind of know what beaches they're regularly coming back to do We have an idea of how many birds we have here in Ontario coming back You

Sydney Shepherd 18:58

You know, every year does fluctuate a little bit. Many years ago, there used to be zero piping plovers that bred here in Ontario. There was actually a 30 year span from 1977 to 2007, where we had no piping plovers at all. And in 2007, they did return to nest at Saubel Beach. And since then, we thankfully have had plovers here. And now, you know, that's thanks to Partners and volunteers and many individuals coming

Meredith 19:25

Okay. So were they considered extirpated Ontario?

Sydney Shepherd 19:56

were considered extirpated. And now the Great Lakes, or sorry, the Ontario portion, we're part of the Great Lakes population. And so they weren't extirpated within their population. Michigan held about 5 pairs. Big bulk of the population while there was that gap time in Ontario. So, you know, if Michigan didn't have any birds, have been really hard to see any reestablishment here, but they were considered extirpated in Ontario. Yes.

Meredith 20:22

So, are they coming back now because that Michigan population is doing better and they're needing more space or, you know, like, why are they, why have they come back? I mean, it's great news, but why are we seeing them again?

Sydney Shepherd 20:35

actually, it's a great story about conservation efforts and, and you know, international partnerships to the population in Michigan was also low around the same time, and the folks there started doing captive rearing for any eggs that were abandoned. Kind of gave the population there a little kickstart and, and that started expanding. So eggs that wouldn't have otherwise have hatched in the wild we're raising captivity and then the chicks were released into the wild. And once those birds started, know, coming back the next year and needing places, eventually, they found Ontario again. And we're happy that because of that initial boost and the work that we continue to do with the, the folks in the States and captive rearing still continues to the population. Should keep

Meredith 21:23

So do we have an idea of what the overall population of this species is looking like?

Sydney Shepherd 21:29

in the Great Lakes population, we're sitting at about 200 individuals, and that is across many of the states that we share the Great Lakes shores with as well.

Meredith 21:38

Okay, so this is not a super abundant species, and we only have like a couple individuals This is a species that still needs some, like, pretty heavy intervention. Like you said, the captive rearing is still going on. And then we also have some pretty intense conservation measures here if we're having volunteers literally at these sites. Is it daily? Is it weekly? Nice,

Sydney Shepherd 22:05

these sites. And whether that's staff or volunteers or our partners being out there they've, they've got a pretty good watchful eye, which is great because that does mean that's a lot of data that can help us inform our management decisions and also a lot of folks who are out there to help with that outreach and engagement for beach users. But, you know, volunteers can sign up for. type of flexible schedule they're able to help us with.

Meredith 22:29

just sliding that in there. Like, you don't need to volunteer every day if you want to be a volunteer. Sydney, have you gotten out? And been able to do some of this monitoring or work with the species yourself.

Sydney Shepherd 22:41

So I've now been working with piping plover for four field seasons. I'm coming up onto my fifth and I pretty much spend every single day on the beach with them during the And it's a really special, special role.

Meredith 22:56

So, what does that look like? What info are you collecting? Are you banding birds? Are you monitoring from afar? What, what kind of, what stuff are you doing?

Sydney Shepherd 23:06

in the early spring, we'll go out to beaches that we expect piping plover to be on, and we'll start walking up and down the shore to see if we see them. Once a pair has been established, we will quickly spring into action with lots of our partners and implement our fencing, our psychological fencing around the nest. We'll put predator exclosures up over top of the nest.

Meredith 23:30

I'm going to be talking about the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, seriously knock off like you saw elsewhere, and we'll talk about that. all so much.

Sydney Shepherd 23:49

needed. the chicks hatch, we do band them,

Meredith 23:54

Its So Um Okay Um Um Okay Bye bye.

Sydney Shepherd 24:12

Peppa on their beach down there and that's all thanks to some of the color banding that we do. Yeah, lots of different roles throughout the summertime, but it's, it's really cool stuff.

Meredith 24:23

Okay, two follow up questions. These birds must be pretty loyal to your, to their nest. If you're able to get close to do the exclusion on them, or are they like a way for Jane, you sneak in? Like, how does that work? Okay.

Sydney Shepherd 24:38

dedicated parents. While they have 1 egg, they're not as connected to it. So, you know, they can't withstand a whole lot of disturbance and we are working under very strict protocols and permits. So when we go and implement those things, we're making sure we're monitoring the bot. the bird's body language and trying to mitigate stress as much as we can. We're only in there for a short period of time, and then we have to leave the area and give them lots of space to do what they do. Once they're at four eggs, you know, they're a little bit more connected to that nest. But same thing, we're working under the same protocol, always monitoring the bird's body language, and we'll retreat and give them a space if they need to. But ultimately, you know, this is the, the. up the predator exclosures is pretty important work for conserving their population and protecting their nests.

Meredith 25:27

Yeah, obviously, you wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't worth the stress. That you were going to be putting and then, so you're banding the chicks, so that means you're getting to hold these cute little cotton ball babies.

Sydney Shepherd 25:40

it's pretty special stuff.

Meredith 25:42

How much do they weigh? Rough, like compare, you don't need to give me grams, but like comparison.

Sydney Shepherd 25:48

You know, most of the chicks, we band them around 10 days old, so they're still those little cotton balls, but they're starting to get their like scrappy feathers come in but they weigh about 15 grams, which, if I'm correct, is maybe about the weight of 3 pounds. Penny's I mean, who's held a penny in the past few years, either. So that might be not be a good reference point. But yeah, really, really little light things. They'll basically blow away in the wind. It feels like.

Meredith 26:15

Oh my gosh, you must be, be like so stressed being like, oh my God, it must be so delicate with not only this three penny Size, not size, weight, creature, but also knowing that they're endangered and you're holding them.

Sydney Shepherd 26:27

like the parents are peeping around us telling us to let go of our kids. So it definitely is a high stress day. But it's also, you know, a very special day. And I'm very grateful to work with these birds. That's definitely one of the days where I, I reminded at how special they are.

Meredith 26:45

Yeah, I can sort of relate. I did a little bit of time in wildlife rehabilitation. And so I did get to the privilege of handling some species that probably not the average person. It's always this like mix between responsibility, right? Because, I mean, when I was doing it, they were in rehabilitation because they were hurt or abandoned or orphaned, and they needed some intervention, whereas the species needs intervention. So that's why you're, you're doing the banding. So really important work. Do you have any, like, favorite stories from your time walking these beaches? Yes.

Sydney Shepherd 27:24

yeah, I mean, every day I feel like there's something that I can say, or there's some little story to say, but I first started working with piping plover at Darlington in 2021, and there was one bird that was on that beach. Just, we connected in a different way, or I connected with her. Of course, she's, she's a bird. She doesn't know I'm out there. But her

Meredith 27:46

I'm going to go ahead and tell you what I'm going to teach you. at the end of the day, we're going to see a lot of great things happen. And I think we're going to see the future, and you know, we're going to see people who are going to go back to their old ways, and we're going to see people who are going to take their time, and we're going to see people who are going to take their time.

Sydney Shepherd 28:06

Chewy actually tried to be a mother at Toronto

Meredith 28:10

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Sydney Shepherd 28:26

female

Meredith 28:27

Um, And then we have the the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, and I'll see you next time. Bye.

Sydney Shepherd 28:52

and Chewy was left alone to raise this nest

Meredith 28:55

guy its pretty good. Okay, That that that that that, That yeah that, That is a good, That is a good followup. I don't know how well we got that. You're still there?

Sydney Shepherd 29:09

She was able to raise a nest successfully to the end and she hatched two chicks. So, you know, lots of different that we see from these birds too, but that's maybe my favorite, favorite story. And Chewy's maybe my favorite bird for sure. A little bit. Yeah,

Meredith 29:27

It's like the Real Housewives of Pipe and Puffers, like, a

Sydney Shepherd 29:31

in 2023, we also had quite the you know. rom com, bad TV show, or not bad TV show, like, you know, cheesy TV show, reality TV show, Situation at Wasega Beach 2, where there was a little love triangle. So it happens a lot. I'm sure in other species this happens too, but because we monitor piping plovers so closely, we get a nice inside look at their, their lives.

Meredith 30:00

Now, obviously, I need to follow up with, so all these plovers get named and how do they get

Sydney Shepherd 30:07

Yeah, I mean, you know, we're working with only 10 birds a year and we're in trying to engage with the

Meredith 30:13

don't know.

Sydney Shepherd 30:26

various different ways. So Chewy, she actually came with her name. She was born in New York and the folks there named the chicks when they hatched. I think they were all Star Wars themed names that year. So that one was fun. Some other birds, they don't come with names. So we'll go to our social media or our volunteers, our partners to try and collectively think up some names together. So. You know, out our social media page. There may be some bird naming opportunities in the future.

Meredith 30:55

So, okay. Love that people get to contribute the names, but also that there's like, themed names out there and that Chewy came with her name. That's very fun. But that must come with like, I don't know, do you feel sad then when like, birds stop returning or?

Sydney Shepherd 31:15

Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, naming them is is one way that we connect with them and Chewy didn't return to Ontario in 2024. And my heart definitely felt a little sad. But it's, you know, it does help us track their life history and really understand what types of threats they're facing all throughout. And so we typically don't name chicks here in Ontario. We wait for them to come back and establish a nest of their own and then that's when they receive their names. But it does it does make you face reality a little bit too.

Meredith 31:53

And actually, so Chewie was named as a chick. Chewie is, I mean, at least to my knowledge of Star Wars, is a male character. So can you, are they sexually dimorphic? Like, can you tell males and females apart when they're chicks?

Sydney Shepherd 32:12

they're technically sexually dimorphic when they're adults. However, it is quite tricky to see because a lot of their differences are very small scale. And then these birds camouflage in their tiny little things. You don't get very close to them, but as chicks, they are not sexually dimorphic. And so would just be naming them and trying to see you You know, who, who, who comes back and, and that's typically how we figure out, know, the, the sex of these birds. We see the, the mating dance. And that's, that's where we really tell.

Meredith 32:47

So, on adult birds, what is the physical marker?

Sydney Shepherd 32:51

the females are more likely to have a muddier beak where the black portion of their beak and the orange portion of their beak sort of transitions in together. Okay. The male is a little bit more stark, and so he'll have black with like a crisp line between the orange. So, you know, with their beaks being so small, that one's very hard to see. The other thing is females often, their eyebrow will not connect to where their eye is. There'll be a little gap where there'll be some white feathers. Whereas the male, their eyebrow is more likely to go all the way. Now we also see A lot of variation in that. So there are sometimes males that look very female and females that look very masculine as well. So we our best to guess when we see a new plover, but typically we just wait until they mate to really confirm that.

Meredith 33:45

I guess that's kind of a foolproof way of identifying them. We've talked a lot about some really fun aspects of plovers, but do you have a favorite thing about plovers? Or the piping plover specifically?

Sydney Shepherd 34:02

everything, I know that's maybe not the best answer, but like, they are just an adorable species with this cute little peeping sound and these funny little like running habits that they do on the beach and they are super charismatic. And so 1 of the things that I do really love about them is how they are able to gain a lot of. Attraction and awareness and folks who are getting involved in their conservation story. As soon as somebody learns about them, I feel like it like something in their brain and piping plovers might be their gateway into other species conservation or habitat conservation. So they're, they're just special. And I'm, yeah, I feel very lucky every day to work with them.

Meredith 34:46

I was thinking that the PR for piping plovers is doing an excellent job because even though they're such a rare species. And there's a lot of other plovers out there. If people were to name a plover, they're probably going to name the piping plover before they maybe even think of some of the more common plovers that we have here.

Sydney Shepherd 35:07

Yeah, yeah, there's, you know, they do really well for themselves. They're viral on Instagram sometimes too. They're just so good for, for image sharing and, and yeah, a lot of folks are, they know the Pipe and Plover. So that's good stuff.

Meredith 35:23

So we've talked a lot about them and I'm really happy that we've covered quite a bit you know, we've traveled quite a few beaches together, but what about you? Like, how did you get into this line of work? What inspired you to start working with the plover?

Sydney Shepherd 35:38

I didn't actually foresee that this is anywhere that I would be, especially when I first started thinking about post secondary education. I actually thought that I'd be out there fighting crimes and working with DNA and and all of that type of thing when I first went to university. But thanks to a professor in a mandatory ecology class that I probably wasn't too keen on at the time I realized that the world of wildlife conservation and biology

Meredith 36:05

It's a good idea.

Sydney Shepherd 36:14

reason in my,

Meredith 36:15

So the final version of the I'm not sure what the interpretation is. But I think it's called the The algorithm is called the measurement algorithm. That's where the whole thing is. Essentially, if you look inside the algorithm, it's just some random fractions of Transcripts provided by Transcription Outsourcing, LLC. Can everyone hear me now? Oh, Oh yeah. Can you hear me now? Yeah. I was the one who actually did the filming in the first place. So I tried to give the best footage possible, but I was not good enough. And I was like, what is that? You know, because of the slow really slow I should have gotten some something faster. And I made some cuts there, but it wasn't good enough. I was supposed to make the cuts.

Sydney Shepherd 37:36

and I spend my summers on the beach with this special bird now.

Meredith 37:41

I love that story and can I guess what organization you were working with the captive birds? Was it wild? Ontario?

Sydney Shepherd 37:47

Yes.

Meredith 37:49

I knew it and I believe my brother worked with probably the same Kestrel.

Sydney Shepherd 37:54

cool. Artemis.

Meredith 37:56

yeah, Yeah,

Sydney Shepherd 37:59

lot.

Meredith 38:02

I think originally it was with the Great Horned Owl.

Sydney Shepherd 38:04

Yes, Einstein.

Meredith 38:07

Einstein, yeah, and Einstein wasn't the biggest fan of my brother one day, and he actually got a pretty good gash.

Sydney Shepherd 38:14

Einstein, I was super fond of males pretty often, so they definitely had to make sure that their, their trainers were aligned properly for her team, yeah.

Meredith 38:26

yeah, yeah, I mean, owls, picky birds in general, and they just always look pissed off. So I wouldn't want to be going into that enclosure with a bird that didn't like me. So, anyway, he was fine, but it was like, you know, firsthand how strong those birds can be. Are they predators of the piping plover?

Sydney Shepherd 38:45

great horned owl surprisingly can be we don't typically see them on our piping plover beaches in Ontario, but in other places across their range. have witnessed great horned owl predations, or at least seen evidence of the predation and like pellets, you know, finding plover bones and. Bans but not something that we worry about too often here in Ontario, but our predator exclosures should be a good protection against, against them.

Meredith 39:18

Yeah, and you mentioned, I mean, here, it's more of the peregrine falcon than The Merlin's that can be

Sydney Shepherd 39:24

Yeah. And gulls and just lots of things, lots and lots of things.

Meredith 39:29

okay. Well, I feel like I need to turn this around. Cause like we're at the end of our interview and we should probably not end this on how many other birds eat piping plovers. So if you were to think that the piping plover putting you on the spot, we're to have like a superpower, like if you were to become like piping plover woman, you know what I mean? You're wearing the piping plover Kate. What superpower are you embodying? This is a This is a This is a

Sydney Shepherd 40:14

You'll typically see a piping plover adult defending their chicks against a bird that's like three to four times their size. So a piping plover adult may go up against a herring gull. And that's by size, quite, quite common. Large for about four times their size, but like 15 times their weight. So I superpower would be confidence intimidation maybe, but just like, yeah, kind of persona then then they actually have

Meredith 40:46

And what person here couldn't use a little dose of some superhero confidence? So, I love that for you, and I love that for the piping plover. So, thank you so much, Sydney, for chatting with me today. I really enjoyed it.

Sydney Shepherd 41:00

plover.

Meredith 41:01

And that's a wrap on this episode with the piping plover and Sydney shepherd. A massive thank you to Sydney for taking the time to chat with us. And if you loved this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review. It helps rarefied reach for people who care about our planets, rares creatures. And don't forget to follow us on Instagram at rarefied. Pod and sign up to our newsletter. On our website for updates behind the scenes and sneak peaks at upcoming episodes. Next time. we'll be introducing you to eight. Colorful small aquatic fish. That has a really big impact. You won't want to miss it. So until next time, get out there and explore the wild because every species has a story and every one of us can make a difference. Thank you for listening. And until next time happy trails.