A lot has happened since we reported the earliest recorded sighting of a Piping Plover in Ontario, back on April 15th. There are now 4 nesting pair of Piping Plovers on Wasaga’s shores.
Today we are excited to announce that the first Piping Plover nest of the season in the Great Lakes is hatching. After 27 days of incubation, the first chick emerged from his egg the morning of June 9th and was promptly brooded by the mother plover. The three remaining eggs should hatch within the next 48 hours.
Wasaga Beach Plover guardians are also pleased to know that one of the Piping Plover seen recently near Hanlan’s Point on the Toronto Islands is a chick that was born and reared on Wasaga Beach last year. It is wonderful to know that ‘our birds’ are dispersing to new territories and increasing the Piping Plover population. The last time this endangered species was seen nesting on the shores of Lake Ontario was more than 80 years ago.