Raised to be Wild: The Tale of a Great Lakes Piping Plover

by Sarah Saunders, Mary Anna Lundeberg, Diane Reynolds (Designed by)

Overview

Amidst the shores of the five great lakes, camouflaged by the pebble-peppered sand, an adorable big-eyed bird scrapes a nest on the beach. This robin-sized shorebird has a plaintive, musical call, hence the name "Piping Plover." 

   The Great Lakes Piping Plover is endangered. About 17 pairs of Great Lakes Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus: subspecies C. m. circumcinctus) existed in 1986, all breeding in Michigan when the plovers were listed as federally endangered. Some people thought it was hopeless when that number decreased to 12 pairs.

    However, researchers and biologists collaborated to devise protective measures to increase the population of this species threatened with extinction. One innovative strategy is raising captive-bred chicks and releasing them near wild plovers, who quickly bond. 

    This story was inspired by "Little Cooper", a captive-reared Great Lakes piping plover who lived 8 years migrating from Michigan to Florida to Ontario and successfully fathered numerous chicks. The book lets you share a journey with another captive-reared chick, "BroBob", starting with his egg rescue, incubation, captive-rearing, banding, introduction to wild plover chicks, migration, breeding, and parenting adventures and challenges. In addition, the unique contributions of the conservation team members are highlighted as their achievements matter in BroBob's life. 

    Now, thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team, BroBob's epic story has been repeated many times, as Great Lakes Piping Plovers have more than tripled their population to 80 pairs (2023), and now breed across all five great lakes. This conservation success story shows we can save endangered, migratory shorebirds, and continue to share the shore with some of the most threatened birds on earth. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781942340164
Publisher:	Nature Connections
Publication date:	09/01/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	60
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sarah received her doctorate from the University of Minnesota, where she studied Great Lakes piping plovers with her advisor, Francie Cuthbert. Since high school, Sarah knew she wanted to be a conservation biologist, and in graduate school she was especially interested in working with endangered species. After studying Francie's work with plovers, she knew she found her scientific calling. Sarah spent six summers leading the field banding crew and fell in love with the work - despite the very early mornings, lots of time in the car traveling to far-flung nesting locations, and months away from her cat "Piper" (named, of course, after the piping plovers). Now, as a scientist at Audubon, she investigates a range of important questions to help conserve many bird species, but she'll always have a special place in her heart for Great Lakes piping plovers. Sarah resides in Michigan, so she continues to contribute to piping plover recovery efforts by helping to band and monitor as needed during the summer. "Once you spend time with piping plovers, you stay involved in any way you can and never look back," she says. After nearly 15 years immersed in the plover world, Sarah is excited to spend the next 15 immersing her son in the wonder of piping plover conservation work as well.
Mary is a former Professor and Chair of the Education Department at Michigan State University, who holds degrees in K-12 teaching and educational psychology. She has authored several books and is also an award-winning nature photographer having traveled the globe to study and photograph wildlife, particularly the nurturing behavior of animals with their young.Mary has dedicated her life to conservation through nature writing, photography, and teaching. Mary grew up in Chicago, but lived most of her life in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, exploring the outdoors and kayaking whenever possible. The North American Nature Photography Association awarded Mary a prestigious Philip Hyde Conservation Grant for her work in protecting nesting shorebirds, work also recognized by The Florida Shorebird Alliance, the FWC: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast and South County Healthy Living. Now Mary spends her summers in Michigan, involved as a Plover Ambassador and Monitor at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, focused on educating beachgoers about Great Lakes Piping Plovers.