Piping Plovers at dawn
I will be returning to more LSSI posts - I am working hard on getting them ready for you. In the meantime I want to share this past Monday morning’s very special adventure in Westerly, RI. I arrived Sunday with our sister-in-law and I was out the door at about 4:50 Monday morning. The temperature was in the high 30’s with no wind and it was setting up to be a beautiful sunrise. I walked down the sandy beach road heading due east - the ocean was on my right and the Weekapaug Pond was on my left. I decided to head further down the road than I had last year. Instead of heading to the pond inlets I decided to cut over and walk along the beach. Much of the beach area is roped off to protect the precious little Piping Plovers that arrive here to breed. They migrate from the Gulf of Mexico and as far south as the Caribbean up to the East coast stopping anywhere from South Carolina to Newfoundland. Piping Plovers range from 5.9 -7.5 inches in length and their wingspans are 14-16 inches. As I have said before… they are like little cotton balls with toothpicks for legs - they are so very special. For me - when they arrive in mid to late March it means that Spring has sprung in New England!
This post consists entirely of Piping Plovers - I was blessed to see 6 different pairs as I walked along the beach. They are an endangered species and they need all of the help they can get from each of us. I could hear their little peeping sounds long before I spotted them. I walked very close to the water’s edge and was very careful with each step to make sure none were in my path. I kept walking east hoping to get beyond them to be able to look back to see them light up with the first of the sun’s rays. I set up my tripod as low as possible and got down on my knees and then a dream unfolded in front of me. I can’t imagine what I looked like them to them - walking crab-like on my knees with my tripod and camera in front of me. As always I stayed a very safe distance from them and they never seemed bothered at all by my presence… they just seemed curious.
I hope that you enjoy-
Once the sun was fully up over the horizon I picked up my gear and then positioned myself above the piping plovers looking towards the crashing surf….
The last shot of the morning - to the right of the path -
Thank you for coming along with me -