Piping Plover

Species information

The following is a report on progress made towards the protection and recovery of Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) in Ontario, from 2007 to 2018, based on species-specific policy. This report meets the legislative requirement for a review of progress under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA or “the Act”). Piping Plover  is listed as endangered on the Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) List under the ESA.

Piping Plover has been classified as a species at risk in Ontario since 1977. It was originally classified as endangered, and retained its ‘endangered’ status under the ESA, when it came into force in 2008.

The species-specific policy for Piping Plover, known as the Government Response Statement (GRS), was developed in 2014, and includes the government’s recovery goal for the species and the actions and priorities it leads or supports to help achieve that goal. The GRS considers science advice provided in the recovery strategy when developing recovery actions for the species. As legislated in the Act, the purpose of the Review is to report on progress made towards implementing the protection and recovery actions in the GRS. The Review can also help identify opportunities to adjust and adapt the implementation of protection and recovery actions to achieve the recovery goal for the species.

Further information about the species, including the threats it faces and actions being taken to help protect and recover this species is available on the Government of Ontario webpage for Piping Plover. A summary of progress made towards the protection and recovery of Piping Plover, and an annual update on the species at risk program, are available on the Review of Progress towards the Protection and Recovery of Ontario’s Species at Risk webpage.

Snapshot

Progress towards the protection and recovery of Piping Plover

• The recovery goal in the Government Response Statement (GRS) for Piping Plover in Ontario is to ensure its persistence along the coasts of the Great Lakes and Lake of the Woods, encourage increases in the number of breeding pairs, and support the expansion of the species to additional suitable breeding habitat in Ontario, where feasible.
• Progress has been made towards implementing all government-led actions. Progress has also been made towards achieving all government-supported recovery objectives, and implementing all associated actions. Examples of progress include:
  • Developing and/or implementing beach management plans that minimize human disturbance to Piping Plover habitat
  • Participating in the International Piping Plover Census in collaboration with federal partners and volunteers
  • Surveying and monitoring at each breeding site including nest counts, evidence of breeding, documenting threats, predators, and human disturbance
• In alignment with the GRS, further research and analysis is required to fully implement the action to improve knowledge on reproductive success and overall health of Piping Plovers in relation to invertebrate food supply, human disturbance, and predator populations. Research to carry out this action is currently underway.

Occurrence and distribution

• Historically, Piping Plovers were found along the Great Lakes shorelines in Ontario with estimates of approximately 70 to 90 breeding pairs in the early 1900s. With rapid increases in shoreline development and recreation, combined with natural weather events and predation, populations severely declined and by 1986, Piping Plovers were considered extirpated in Ontario.
• Following international efforts in Piping Plover recovery work, in 2007, the first nest was found in Ontario for the first time in 30 years at Sauble Beach, and by 2017, Piping Plovers nested along all five of the Great Lakes for the first time in decades.
• Twenty-four populations^{footnote 1[1]} of Piping Plover have been documented in Ontario. Eleven are considered extant (i.e., observed within the past 20 years) and thirteen are considered extirpated. Extant populations are located along the shores of the Great Lakes (Tiny Township, Sauble Beach, Manitoulin Island, Toronto Island, Port Elgin, and Wasaga Beach, Darlington, North Beach, Presqu’ile, and Limestone Islands Provincial Parks and at Lake of the Woods (Sable Islands Provincial Park) in northwestern Ontario.
• Since 2008, three new populations were identified and seven populations that were previously considered extirpated or historical^{footnote 2[2]} in Ontario are now considered extant.

Government-supported stewardship projects

• Through the Species at Risk Stewardship Program, the Government of Ontario has enabled its stewardship partners to conduct 19 projects that have supported the protection and recovery of Piping Plover. Eight projects ($283,695) focused exclusively on Piping Plover, while the other 11 projects ($402,704) focused on multiple species at risk, including Piping Plover.
• The government’s support helped its stewardship partners to involve 3,112 individuals who volunteered 50,200 hours of their time towards protection and recovery activities for species at risk, including Piping Plover. The estimated value of these voluntary contributions, as well as additional funding and in-kind support, is $1,450,071.
• Stewardship partners reported that through their actions 126 hectares of habitat were enhanced for Piping Plover and other species at risk that inhabit the same ecosystem.
• Stewardship partners reported providing outreach on multiple species at risk, including Piping Plover, to 115,711 individuals.

Supporting human activities while ensuring appropriate support for species recovery

• Five activities have been registered for the species under Ontario Regulation 242/08 - two under ‘Notice of drainage works’ (section 23.9), one under ‘Ecosystem protection’ (section 23.11), and two under ‘Threats to human health or safety, non-imminent’ (section 23.18).

Reporting on progress towards the protection and recovery of Piping Plover

The implementation of government-led and government-supported actions demonstrates progress towards reaching the desired objectives and the recovery goal set out in the GRS.

Progress towards implementing government-led actions

Progress has been made towards implementing all government-led actions. Common actions for the government to lead as it works toward achieving a species’ recovery goal include:

• Educate other agencies and authorities involved in planning and environmental assessment processes on the protection requirements under the ESA.
• Encourage the submission of Piping Plover data to the government’s central repository at the Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC).
• Undertake communications and outreach to increase public awareness of species at risk in Ontario.
• Protect the Piping Plover and its habitat through the ESA.
• Support conservation, agency, municipal and industry partners, and Indigenous communities and organizations to undertake activities to protect and recover the Piping Plover. Support will be provided where appropriate through funding, agreements, permits (including conditions) and/or advisory services.
• Establish and communicate annual priority actions for government support in order to encourage collaboration and reduce duplication of efforts.

Additionally, the government has directly undertaken the following species-specific actions:

• Encourage the development and implementation of beach management plans that enable continued recreational uses that are compatible with maintaining suitable conditions and natural features for Piping Plover and its habitat.
• Continue to co-operate with federal partners to undertake breeding surveys at five-year intervals, as part of the International Piping Plover Census.
• Continue to implement the Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan to address the invasive species (for example, Phragmites australis) that threaten Piping Plover.

The government has made considerable progress towards the protection and recovery of Piping Plover in Ontario through regular surveys, monitoring, management of breeding sites, through regular participation in the International Piping Plover Census, and outreach and awareness activities. Key progress towards implementing these government-led actions is described below:

• Wasaga Beach Provincial Park led the development, publication and implementation of a beach management plan to protect the ecological integrity of the beach, and provide public beach access by improving beach management. Identified actions in the beach management plan that directly benefit Piping Plover and their habitat include: restricted raking; invasive species removal; reducing disturbances in and around Piping Plover habitat; and continued support for established volunteer and educational outreach initiatives.
• Since the species first disappeared from the province in 1986, the first nesting occurrences of Piping Plover in Ontario Parks occurred in 2016, in Darlington Provincial Park and Presqu’ile Provincial Park. These discoveries led to the development of revised beach management strategies to protect Piping Plover habitat and minimize human disturbance to nesting birds. Piping Plovers successfully reproduced in 2016 with seven chicks fledging from the beach at Darlington Provincial Park and another three from Presqu’ile Provincial Park. Over the 2017 and 2018 breeding seasons, nests were established at Darlington and North Beach Provincial Parks, with three chicks fledging the beaches collectively. Ontario Parks staff engaged with numerous members of the public and local stakeholders to monitor nests and chicks. Volunteers devoted over 1,500 hours of beach monitoring to contribute to ongoing data collection on breeding behaviour and survival rates, and educating beach goers on Piping Plover biology.
• Across several breeding sites in Ontario, government staff, including Ontario Parks staff, and local volunteers monitored and managed Piping Plover breeding habitat from 2009 to 2018. Government-led monitoring and management efforts (for example, protecting nests) contributed to the documentation of recent breeding evidence at the Windy Point and Sable Islands Provincial Park sites near Kenora as well as the installation of nest enclosures to protect Piping Plover eggs against predators at Carter Bay on Manitoulin Island (2015 and 2016).
• Through discovery programming at select parks where nesting occurs, outreach and education on Piping Plover is delivered to the public.

International Piping Plover Census

The International Piping Plover Census is an international recovery initiative that aims to monitor and survey former, existing and potential breeding and wintering locations of Piping Plover. Surveys have been carried out every five years since 1991 (Elliot-Smith et al. 2009; 2015). The Ontario government (working with federal partners and local volunteers) participated in each annual census across the province by either contributing data, facilitating surveys, or by compiling and sharing data. In 2016, a total of 96 sites were surveyed in Ontario, up from 62 sites in 2011 and 45 in 2006. Results from surveys in 2011 and 2016 indicate a small increase in nesting sites, and provide evidence that Piping Plovers are re-colonizing historical sites and colonizing new sites. In 2016, 11 breeding pairs were observed across 6 sites (Carter Bay, Sauble Beach, and 4 provincial parks – Wasaga Beach, Darlington, Presqu’ile, and Limestone Islands), the most the program has seen since 1991 (C. Hann pers. comm. 2019).

Key progress made towards implementing other government-led actions is described in the following sections.

Protecting Piping Plover habitat

Protecting and recovering species at risk is a shared responsibility that requires the collective efforts of the government, partners and the public.

Piping Plovers nest on sandy beaches that are also popular for human recreation. Activities to maintain beaches for aesthetic purposes, such as raking and grooming, can remove naturally deposited materials (e.g., vegetation and driftwood) that provide cover from predators and support the invertebrates upon which Piping Plovers feed.

Finding a balance between human activity and protection of species at risk is challenging. The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is committed to working with those responsible for beach maintenance to recognize the importance of the beach to the local economy while ensuring that the habitat of Piping Plover is protected.

The government’s commitment to protect species at risk and their habitat has been demonstrated in the use of enforcement tools such as education and outreach, warnings, the issuance of stop orders (e.g., Piping Plover) and fines.

Occurrence and distribution

Twenty-four populations^{footnote 1[1]} of Piping Plover have been documented in Ontario. Eleven are considered extant (i.e., observed within the past 20 years) and thirteen are considered extirpated. Extant populations are located along the shores of the Great Lakes (Tiny Township, Sauble Beach, Manitoulin Island, Toronto Island, Port Elgin, and Wasaga Beach, Darlington, North Beach, Presqu’ile, and Limestone Islands Provincial Parks and at Lake of the Woods (Sable Islands Provincial Park) in northwestern Ontario.

Historically, Piping Plovers were found along the Great Lakes shorelines in Ontario with estimates of approximately 70 to 90 breeding pairs in the early 1900s. With rapid increases in shoreline development and recreation, combined with natural weather events and predation, populations severely declined and by 1986, Piping Plovers were considered extirpated in Ontario.

Since 2008, the government’s central repository at the Natural Heritage Information Centre has received 3,049 records of the species based on observations between 1905 and 2018, from a variety of sources. These records have helped to redefine where the species is known and has been known to occur, and have provided additional information on the species’ habitat and threats.

Based on information submitted after 2008, new populations were identified in Darlington Provincial Park, Port Elgin/Southampton (2014), and Limestone Islands Provincial Park (2016).

Carter Bay, Toronto Island and Consecon (including North Beach Provincial Park) populations were previously thought to be extirpated but are now considered extant as breeding evidence was found in 2009, 2015 and 2017, respectively. Before these dates, nests were not observed at these sites since 1970, 1934 and 1924. In addition, four populations (Giant’s Tomb, Long Point, Presqu’ile Provincial Park and Ipperwash) that were previously considered historical are now considered extant. All known extant populations have also been recently confirmed to be extant (since 2008). Out of the 11 extant populations, 6 have had successful nesting for more than one year in the past 20 years (Wasaga Beach, Sauble Beach, Darlington Provincial Park, Presqu’ile Provincial Park, Toronto Islands, and Lake of the Woods). Three populations (Sandbanks, Long Beach, Turkey Point) which were previously thought to be historical are now considered extirpated as confirmed breeding has not been verified despite multiple searches and suitable habitat no longer exists.

It is possible that there are observations of Piping Plover that have not been submitted to the government. Encouraging the submission of observations of this species is included in the GRS as a government-led action. Submission of species observations increases our knowledge of where they occur and can play an important role in assessing the viability^{footnote 3[3]} of species populations.

Everyone is encouraged, or may be required by an authorization or approval, to submit observations of Piping Plover, and any other species at risk, to the NHIC for incorporation into the provincial record of observations. Observations may now be submitted to NHIC via the Rare Species of Ontario project in iNaturalist.

• 3,049
  observations of this species were submitted to NHIC since 2008

Government-supported stewardship projects

An important government-led action in the GRS for Piping Plover is to support partners to undertake activities to protect and recover the species. Through the Species at Risk Stewardship Program the government has supported 19 projects designed to contribute to the protection and recovery of Piping Plover. Eight of these projects ($283,695) focused exclusively on the species, while the other eleven projects ($402,704) focused on multiple species at risk, including Piping Plover. In addition to government funding, partners focusing exclusively on Piping Plover reported they were successful in securing additional funding and in-kind support ($903,195) from other sources, as did partners with projects designed to benefit multiple species at risk, including Piping Plover ($546,876). These amounts include additional funding and in-kind support in the form of time and expertise provided by volunteers.

Stewardship partners reported that provincial funding helped them to secure in-kind support by involving 745 individuals who volunteered 25,564 hours of their time towards protection and recovery activities that focused exclusively on Piping Plover, which has an estimated value of $725,235. As well, 2,367 individuals volunteered 24,637 hours of their time towards protection and recovery activities for multiple species at risk, including Piping Plover, which has an estimated value of $159,875. Partners also reported that through both their efforts and the efforts of their volunteers to implement GRS actions, they were successful in enhancing 126 hectares of habitat that will benefit multiple species at risk, including Piping Plover. In addition, stewardship partners reported providing focused outreach on Piping Plover to 41,748 individuals, as well as ecosystem-based outreach on multiple species, including Piping Plover, to 73,963 individuals.

The remainder of this section highlights two projects supported through the Species at Risk Stewardship Program.

The Friends of Nancy Island Historic Site and Wasaga Beach Provincial Park implemented the Southern Georgian Bay Piping Plover Recovery Program from 2010 to 2018. This program worked with volunteers, local businesses, and the Town of Wasaga Beach to minimize detrimental activities at the breeding site, monitor the species and threats and ensure successful fledging of Piping Plover chicks. Specific actions included but were not limited to:

• Empowering volunteers through the Piping Plover Guardian program to engage with local residents, youth, recreational users, local businesses and tourists to increase awareness of threats to the species and how they can be mitigated
• Managing beach activities that may harm the species through actions including the installation of perimeter fencing to minimize human disturbance, and the protection of a 1-km stretch of beach from mechanical grooming
• Removing the invasive European Common Reed
• Installing predator exclosures to protect eggs
• Monitoring and documenting breeding pairs, nests, behaviour, threats, and the survival of chicks and adults

The collective efforts of the Friends of Nancy Island, Ontario Parks, Canada Wildlife Service and volunteers have resulted in the establishment of two new nests on Wasaga Beach in 2012 and 2015, the subsequent protection of nesting sites from disturbance, and the successful fledging of over 64 chicks in the past decade. Prior to 2012, the species nested in only one area of the beach. The Southern Georgian Bay Piping Plover Recovery Program supports the implementation of multiple GRS actions through responsible beach management to protect the species, continued stewardship and outreach initiatives in the local community, and continued surveys and monitoring at Wasaga Beach.

In 2018, Dr. Erica Nol and a research associate at Trent University undertook research to assess resource availability and dispersal of Piping Plover throughout the province. Research objectives were to 1) study the effects of invertebrate abundance and human disturbance on chick behavior and habitat use, and 2) measure the dispersal of banded Piping Plovers to predict potential colonization throughout Ontario. By the end of the 2018 breeding season, invertebrate abundance and diversity, habitat characteristics (e.g., cover, debris, beach topology) and human disturbance were measured across 16 sites, some of which had been used by breeding Piping Plovers in the recent past, and some of which were used historically but still considered suitable for Piping Plovers. Chicks hatched successfully and were observed at 4 of the 16 sites and habitat use and behavior was monitored at each of these sites and across 4 habitat types (shoreline, wrackline, berm, wet sand). A total of 14 fledged Piping Plover chicks were observed at these sites.

Additional fieldwork and analysis is planned for 2019 to assess resource availability, and existing Piping Plover monitoring data will be used to determine dispersal over time and the probability of colonizing new sites.

This project will improve our knowledge of Piping Plover demographics, habitat requirements and threats, by directly implementing the high priority GRS action to investigate reproductive success and overall health of the species in relation to food supply and human disturbance as well as the action to research survival, recruitment, dispersal and foraging distances.

Species at Risk Stewardship Program

• 
  19

  projects included Piping Plover

• 
  $283,695

  for Piping Plover exclusively

• 
  $402,704

  for multi-species projects that included Piping Plover

• 
  $1,450,071

  in additional funding and in-kind support

• 
  3,112

  volunteers

• 
  50,200

  volunteer hours

• 
  115,711

  people received outreach

• 
  126

  hectares of habitat enhanced

Supporting human activities while ensuring appropriate support for species recovery

Five activities with potential to affect Piping Plover or its habitat have been registered under various sections of Ontario Regulation 242/08, under the ESA - two under ‘Drainage works’ (section 23.9), one under ‘Ecosystem protection ’ (section 23.11), and two under ‘Threats to human health or safety, non-imminent’ (section 23.18). These registrations require the registrant to comply with all conditions of the Regulation, such as:

• Ensuring that reasonable steps are taken to minimize adverse effects on the species and its habitat
• Ensuring that any species observations are submitted to the NHIC
• Establishing a protective zone around plants and terrestrial features
• Ensuring that a person with expertise or training in the handling of the species, if moving the species is necessary, is enlisted to do so
• Refraining from carrying out work during sensitive periods for the species (e.g., breeding season) if possible

• 5
  registrations

Progress towards implementing government-supported actions

Government-supported actions are organized under overarching recovery objectives. Progress has been made towards achieving all government-supported recovery objectives, and implementing all associated actions that are identified in the GRS for Piping Plover.

Under this objective, considerable progress has been made towards implementing all actions. Several projects funded through the Species at Risk Stewardship Program, and government-led efforts have implemented high priority Action No. 1 by developing and/or implementing beach management plans at current breeding sites. Partners worked with government staff at several breeding sites to install predator enclosures to protect eggs and chicks, minimized mechanical raking in sensitive areas, managed vegetation to maintain open areas with appropriate amounts of cover, and minimized human disturbance through considerable outreach, education and enforcement activities.

Additionally, regarding Action No. 2, through the Piping Plover Guardian Program in Ontario, International Piping Plover Census, other volunteer-led monitoring initiatives, and outreach events such as Ploverpalooza (a 10-year anniversary event at the Wasaga Beach Water Festival to promote Piping Plover stewardship), multiple interest groups ranging from local businesses, tourists/beach users, residents and academics, were engaged in stewardship and outreach for Piping Plover at multiple breeding sites. Engagement included providing training to volunteers to monitor Piping Plover habitat, and to deliver outreach to beach users regarding the importance of minimizing disturbance to Piping Plover and their nesting sites.

Under this objective, progress has been made towards Action No. 3 and Action No. 4. Monitoring at each breeding site included nest counts, evidence of breeding, documenting threats, predators, human disturbance; this resulted in the accumulation of valuable information that can be used to inform and adapt best management practices and mitigation measures. A stewardship project initiated in 2018 is undertaking a strategic and coordinated approach to monitoring the species that will further implement Action No. 3 through standardized tracking of reproductive success in relation to human-related threats.

Ongoing research led by Trent University and supported by the Species at Risk Stewardship Program, which implements Actions No. 3 and 4, is underway. The goal of the study is to assess the resource availability and dispersal of Piping Plover throughout the Ontario Great Lakes. The objectives of this research are to study the effects of invertebrate abundance and human disturbance on chick habitat use and health of Piping Plovers and to measure the dispersal of banded Piping Plovers to predict potential colonization throughout Ontario. Once complete, the study will directly contribute knowledge to address GRS Actions No. 3 and 4.

Under this objective, considerable progress has been made towards implementing Action No. 5. Since 2008, Piping Plover breeding locations have been monitored yearly in Ontario. In addition, every five years, current, historical and potential breeding sites are surveyed to as part of the International Piping Plover Census, an international recovery initiative for the species.

Summary of progress towards meeting the recovery goal

The recovery goal for Piping Plover is to ensure its persistence along the coasts of the Great Lakes and Lake of the Woods, encourage increases in the number of breeding pairs, and support the expansion of the species to additional suitable breeding habitat in Ontario, where feasible. Effort made towards implementing government-led and government-supported actions has contributed to considerable progress towards this goal.

Based on population data from the Natural Heritage Information Centre and the Piping Plover Census, the Piping Plover population in Ontario appears to be persisting and slowly increasing along Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, Lake Ontario and persisting at Lake of the Woods. Two new breeding sites were observed in 2014 and 2016, and seven breeding sites that were previously considered extirpated or historical are now extant. Considering this information together with the significant government-led and government-supported efforts to maintain suitable habitat, management actions to support the successful fledging of chicks, and regular surveys and monitoring at known, historic, and potential breeding sites, actions over the past decade indicate progress towards achieving the recovery goal for Piping Plover. While some new breeding occurrences may be a result of increased survey effort, data collected through the International Piping Plover Census at a number of potential breeding sites, at five-year intervals since 1991, suggest that Piping Plover has expanded into additional suitable breeding habitat.

Recommendations

As stated in the GRS, this Review of Progress can be used to help identify whether adjustments to the implementation of GRS actions are needed to achieve the protection and recovery of the species. Based on progress to date, the overall direction provided in the GRS for Piping Plover, particularly the implementation of actions identified as high priority, should continue to guide protection and recovery of the species.

Although varying levels of progress have been made towards implementing all of the GRS actions for Piping Plover, further work is needed to fully implement these actions and contribute to the ongoing protection and recovery of this species. For example, while research to investigate reproductive success and overall health of Piping Plovers in relation to food supply and disturbance is underway, further fieldwork and analysis is required to fully implement this action. In addition to the participation of the International Piping Plover Census every five years, partners are encouraged to continue to standardize data collection methods, share information, and maintain and improve existing databases. The amount or suitability of Piping Plover habitat can be highly variable from year to year both across the province and at individual locations. Further surveys at potential breeding sites, in accordance with the recovery goal, can help determine whether Piping Plover is expanding to additional suitable breeding habitat in Ontario.

Protecting and recovering Piping Plover will continue to be a shared responsibility that will require the involvement of many individuals, organizations and communities. The Species at Risk Stewardship Program has been the foundation to ensure important work with volunteers and stewards is a making a difference for Piping Plover, and continued reliance on the Species at Risk Stewardship Program or similar government funding is critical to support ongoing species recovery. The government can also advise if any authorizations under the ESA or other legislation may be required to undertake a project. By working together, we can continue to make progress towards protecting and recovering Piping Plover in Ontario.

References

Elliott-Smith, E., S.M. Haig, and B.M. Powers. 2009. Data from the 2006 International Piping Plover Census: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 426, 332 p.

Elliott-Smith, E., M. Bidwell, A.E. Holland, and S.M. Haig. 2015. Data from the 2011 International Piping Plover Census: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 922, 296 p.

Hann, C. pers. comm. 2019. Email correspondence to L. Ellis. June 2019. 2016 Ontario Piping Plover Census Coordinator. Ontario.