Rare, Endangered Birds Make Return To Ohio

OREGON, OH — For the first time in at least 80 years, a pair of piping plovers are nesting in Ohio.

The endangered bird species has not been documented in Ohio since the 1930s. Two of the birds have now been spotted in Maumee Bay State Park, in Lucas County, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources announced.

The piping plovers built a nest on the park's inland lake beach. A portion of the beach has been closed to the public to protect the birds. Visitors to Maumee Bay State Park are reminded that it is illegal to harass or harm the birds, their eggs or their nest.

Black Swamp Bird Observatory is coordinating volunteers to work two-hour shifts monitoring the plovers. Volunteers will also educate the public on the bird's importance. Those interested in volunteering can sign up at maumeebaypipingplovers.org.

The piping plover is a migratory bird that was once native to Ohio. It is a small, stocky shorebird with sand-colored feathers and orange legs, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said.

"The Great Lakes population of this species was listed as federally endangered in 1986. This listing means the species is in danger of going extinct without further protection," the department added.

No more than 32 piping plover nests have been recorded in a single year, meaning the species is at "perilously low levels," U.S. Fish and Wildlife said. Most remaining pairs of the birds nested in Michigan.

One of the reasons piping plovers have struggled in recent years is the advance of human development. Plovers are particularly sensitive to human interference and contact with people can cause parents to abandon their nest. Much of the plovers natural habitat has been lost to construction.