![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Yh13FCENrN0OyQaK7ENIsJeN-v9AdNyCQY3thPiosiHoQR_IDyLtmhuRmxY7VHFpFTApJ-MESHYeaR0TdMKhmIU5BPwJRYflQAlUBgefP93MNdPiZmY8hn1KTwPNAWlSNtlEax2R6-o/s1600/smPIPL-9538.jpg) |
Cowboy with one of her chicks |
In
April of this year, I observed a banded Piping Plover at Breezy Point in Queens NY, which I found out was banded in 2016 at the
E.B. Forsythe NWR in New Jersey. Nicknamed Cowboy, this female PIPL, decided she would set up shop in Queens - at least that is what I hoped for. After subsequent visits did not show her with a mate, I thought she would not breed this year.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3qol27-U-XQBg9PxcPxRg4a2JF500EMA4hhO6ZJSTYZ6QgtfH4gjwnwipTaFy3KpB-9yXPldLF2zdojKOzS9nRwLYt85GZxwDeF7r8M193FtaXiZyOJruHuKcjFbVHxWdw43dFDbdA5M/s1600/sm3PIPL-9523.jpg) |
3 Piping Plover Chicks |
I was therefore quite delighted on Sunday June 18th to discover that Cowboy had kept her relationship hidden and had indeed found a mate, successfully nested and was now the proud mother of 3 baby Piping Plover chicks. Since Piping Plovers tend to lay 4 eggs, there is a good chance I might have missed the 4th chick? Cowboy looked quite comfortable in her motherly role and I observed how protective she and her mate got when a Red-winged Blackbird got too close to their chicks. These tiny fluff balls will have a tough time dealing with all the dangers of the beach but with a lot of luck and good parenting, they will make it and some day have a family of their own.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwp3dol6Rcy6r2WXz3M6Jp4NuuAbQNJESHCLuFdVrLhEGrXvkcReoToyaz1WzmNVIFRFK8xBY7McBlzI4Q3J_rRVoqncR8QZwt5qNs_rrRyzm9nAc0GGjarMRHAvsOh8FUCDV3XCHXsCE/s1600/smPIPL-9494.jpg) |
Male Piping Plover- Cowboy's mate |
Tags:
Breezy Point,
Queens,
Shorebird,
Piping Plover,
Cowboy
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