Last June 159 people, armed with binoculars and notebooks, spent nearly two weeks checking the shorelines of 294 Saskatchewan waterbodies. They were taking part in the 2006 International Breeding Piping Plover Census. The census occurs every five years, with the last one taking place in 2001. The piping plover was listed as an endangered species in 1985.

The June 2006 census produced some good news for the piping plover population in Saskatchewan.

"We were pleased with the results of the census," says Paule Hjertaas, Saskatchewan Coordinator, International Piping Plover Census. "We found 1435 piping plovers. This is the highest number since the survey began in 1991. Saskatchewan is home to 30 per cent of the 4700 piping plovers that live in the prairies and Great Plains, so knowing the Saskatchewan population is critical to the international effort to protect this endangered species. Our goal is to have a stable population of close to 2300 birds in Canada. The number of birds we found this year may indicate that our conservation efforts are working."

The piping plover is a small, lakeshore bird that resembles the common killdeer but has one neckband instead of two. The migratory plovers arrive in Saskatchewan in April or May from their coastal wintering grounds in the southern United States and Mexico. The males scrape a shallow nest-site in the sand or gravel above the normal high-water mark of saline lakes and on the sandy shores of larger prairie lakes. They usually lay four eggs. Both adults care for the eggs and the young, though the young are able to find their own food within hours of hatching.

"The most important factors affecting the piping plover are the loss of habitat due to human use of beaches and the disturbance of their nesting sites, especially those next to agriculture fields" says Frances Bennett, Saskatchewan Environment zoologist. "People who find plovers nesting on the shore of saline ponds on their land can help the birds by reducing the amount of time spent operating large equipment and walking around the around the areas. Cattle and horses can trample nests and disturb plover habitat, so it is also helpful if producers can control their access. Dogs and cats prey on the eggs and young, as do gulls and raccoons that can be attracted to beach areas by the things people leave behind, such as food and garbage. Piping plovers have a relatively short breeding season, from late May until early June, so if we can limit our activities in their nesting areas we can help their numbers increase."

Changes in water levels due to recreational or building activities, dams, seasonal high water and storms also threaten nesting sites. In 2005, rising water on Lake Diefenbaker led to an emergency rescue of plover eggs from the shoreline.

"We were able to release 110 young back into the wild on Chaplin Lake," says Corie White, Watershed Ecologist, Saskatchewan Watershed Authority. "Each bird was banded with a unique colour combination that allows us to identify it if it was seen again. The June census showed that 18 of the young that we released returned to Saskatchewan. Another six of the birds reared in captivity were recently spotted in Texas. Although only one of the birds found in Saskatchewan was breeding it is encouraging to know that we can take this kind of action and have a positive result."

Several organizations, including Nature Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Watershed Authority, PFRA and Saskatchewan Environment, are working together to protect the birds by doing such things as fencing critical habitat, deferring grazing during the breeding season and finding ways to protect the nests from predators.

For more information contact:

Paul Hjertaas
Saskatchewan Coordinator
International Piping Plover Census
(306) 584-2835

Frances Bennett
Zoologist
Saskatchewan Environment
(306) 787-7197

Corie White
Watershed Ecologist
Saskatchewan Watershed Authority
(306) 787-9057

Or

Art Jones
Communications Consultant
Saskatchewan Environment
(306) 787-5796
(306) 536-8452 (cell)

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