Piping Plover, adult and chick
Charadrius melodus
Piping Plover · Arverne Preserve · 20 June 2026
An adult Piping Plover with a chick trailing behind it on the beach at Arverne. The adults stay close to the chicks for the first few weeks without feeding them directly, mostly running interference against gulls, crows and off-leash dogs, the last of which is the more immediate threat on a New York City beach.
The adult's black neck band and black-tipped orange bill are worn only through the breeding season; by autumn both fade toward the plain, pale look of the chick. The name is the call, a soft, piping whistle that carries down the beach.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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