Piping Plover

This little birdie , the piping plover... only lives in North America in 3 different spots.... the Atlantic Coast, the Northern Great Plains, near rivers, and the Great Lakes. They are endangered species... that means there are a few left...

They make their nests on the beach with no protection... just laying the eggs in a small indent in the sand... The Male makes the nest , they are called "scrapes", the female then picks the best nest and decorates it with shells and debris as camouflage... I think she is just creative :)...

Both male and female take their turns in incubating the eggs until they hatch, and together they will feed their young... all on an open beach....

You can just imagine how those little eggs get crushed...and dug up.... with all the vehicles, and recreation development going on... I decided to do some studies of them and paint a series... just because they are beautiful little birds with a need of respect...