Piping Plover - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

WM 2.2 UPDATED INFORMATION AND CURRENT SPECIES STATUS
FOR THE WINTERING AND MIGRATION RANGE
Piping plover subspecies are phenotypically indistinguishable, and most studies in the
nonbreeding range, i.e, wintering and migration range, report results without regard to
breeding origin. Although a recent analysis shows strong patterns in the wintering
distribution of piping plovers from different breeding populations, partitioning is not
complete and major information gaps persist (see section WM 2.2.1.3 below). Therefore,
new information summarized here pertains to the species as a whole (i.e., all three
breeding populations delineated in section 2.1), except where a particular breeding
population is specified.
WM 2.2.1 Biology and habitat
A large body of information regarding the biology, habitat, and status of wintering and
migrating piping plovers has become available since publication of the 1985 final rule,
the 1988 Northern Great Plains recovery plan, and the 1991 five-year review. Much of
this information was incorporated into the 1996 revised Atlantic Coast and 2003 Great
Lakes recovery plans. Here, we summarize recent information pertinent to the
nonbreeding portion of the annual cycle, emphasizing studies and reports that have
become available since 2003, with brief references to a few earlier studies.
WM 2.2.1.1 Life history:
New information confirms inter- and intra-annual fidelity of piping plovers to migration
and wintering sites as described in the 1996 Atlantic Coast and 2003 Great Lakes
recovery plans. Gratto-Trevor et al. (2009) reported that six of 259 banded piping
plovers observed more than once per winter moved across boundaries of seven
continental U.S. regions (subdivisions of the migration and wintering range as depicted in
Figure WM1). Of 216 birds observed in different years, only eight changed regions
between years, and several of these shifts were associated with late summer or early
spring migration periods (Gratto-Trevor et al. 2009). Local movements are more
common. In South Carolina, Maddock et al. (2009) documented many cross-inlet
movements by wintering banded piping plovers as well as occasional movements of up to
18 km by approximately 10% of the banded population; larger movements within South
Carolina were seen during fall and spring migration. Similarly, eight banded piping
plovers that were observed in two locations during 2006-2007 surveys in Louisiana and
Texas were all in close proximity to their original location, such as on the bay and ocean
side of the same island or on adjoining islands (Maddock 2008).
The mean home range size (95% of locations) for 49 radio-marked piping plovers in
southern Texas in 1997-1998 was 12.6 km 2 , the mean core area (50% of locations) was
2.9 km 2 , and the mean linear distance moved between successive locations (1.97 + 0.04
days apart), averaged across seasons, was 3.3 km (Drake et al. 2001). Seven radio-tagged
piping plovers used a 20.1 km 2 area (100% minimum convex polygon) at Oregon Inlet,
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