Copy of A Quick History of Piping Plovers in Ontario

Since 2007, numerous organisations and individuals have supported Piping Plover conservation, including, The Plover Lovers, Friends of Nancy Island, Ontario Parks, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and Canadian Wildlife Services. Plus, HUNDREDS of incredible volunteers like you!

In 2018, Birds Canada joined as the provincial lead for Piping Plover conservation in Ontario, forming the Ontario Piping Plover Conservation Program. The program continues to work with partners and volunteers to protect nests with fencing, predator exclosures, monitoring, data collection and engaging with beachgoers.

A map of the Great Lakes showing where the historical nesting pairs were located in Canada and the United States. The density is highest around Lake Michigan.
Map showing historical Piping Plover nesting sites. Circles in red show nest sites on the American Shores of the Great Lakes, while yellow circles show Ontario nesting sites.
A map showing nesting pairs in the Great Lakes in the late 1980s. Pairs were only present along Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.
Map showing Piping Plover nesting locations by the late 1980s. All nests were located in Michigan, and only about 11-14 (20-30 individuals) pairs remained.

The Piping Plover population was almost lost from the Great Lakes in the 1980s, but it’s useful to know that there are plovers elsewhere in Canada and the United States – Sydney will share more on that in this next video.

That’s a lot of numbers! Quick, were you paying attention?…approximately how many Piping Plovers are there worldwide? (click to see the answer)

Only 5000! The smallest population is located in the Great Lakes, with around 200 individuals.