36 Nebraskaland • May 2023
So far in his life, 89 has spent time in several nesting
habitat types: first a lakeshore housing development, then a
river sandbar, then a sand and gravel mine. The Partnership
identifies one other type of off-river nesting habitat:
transition sites, a stage during which an old sand gravel mine
becomes a lakeshore housing development. Eighty-nine
spent the summers of 2015 and 2016 at a transition site near
Ashland. As far as we know, he did not nest during those two
years.
But, one day in May 2017, the team spotted a plover at
this same transition site. Looking closer, the color band
combination read: light blue flag on the upper left leg,
yellow over gray on the lower left, metal band on the upper
right, green over green on the lower right. The researchers
continued to watch and observed the plover settle into a
specific spot in the sand. That's when they knew: After two
years, 89 was back on the nest. This time, 89 paired with
an unbanded plover, and together, they incubated 4 eggs.
Interestingly, something happened with one of the eggs
in the second week, and the pair decided to remove it and
continue incubating the remaining three eggs.
On June 9, the researchers returned to find 89's nest empty.
Eighty-nine and his mate were nearby protecting three
chicks. The nest hatched! All three chicks were banded and
named 738, 739 and 740. Eighty-nine and his partner took
care of their young for several weeks, and all three chicks
survived to fledge, earning their flight feathers for their first
migration.
Eighty-nine has not been seen in Nebraska since 2017.
However, we know that he is alive. While we aren't sure
where 89 spends the summer months, we know where he
spends his winters. His first winter sighting was in 2018,
A day-old piping plover chick found in the nest, about to be
weighed and receive leg bands. The white egg tooth, used to
help the chick break out of the shell, can be seen on the tip
of the beak. Plover chicks can leave the nest within 24 hours
of hatching and start foraging. ELSA FORSBERG
