Piping Plover

With a series of characteristic peeps, the piping plover lays two to four eggs at a time, tucking them in sandy beaches and gravel along the Atlantic coast, the shores of the Great Lakes, and parts of the Midwest and Canada. Flooding is already a major cause of nest failure in piping plovers, and rising sea levels threaten to overwhelm these fragile nests even further. The piping plover’s plight is shared by many other shorebirds, such as gulls, terns, and skimmers who nest on coastal beaches and would be harmed by rising sea levels.

Scientific name: Charadrius melodus
IUCN Red List: Near Threatened
Endangered Species Act List: Endangered (Great Lakes), Threatened (Northeast)
Region: Midwest, Southeast, Northeast