Piping Plovers: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, April 2026 — The Piping Plovers are back on our local beaches and showing signs of mating behavior. This is good. Piping Plovers populations in Maine are slowly rebounding from a historical low in the early 80s of 6 nesting pairs to last year’s number of 170 nesting pairs. If you visit southern Maine beaches, you will see the roped-off nesting areas. Please do not violate them. You will also see Piping Plovers running loose on the beach. Please respect their space. Please stop before the birds react to your presence and go well around them. If you want a closer view, stop where you are, before the birds react, and stand still. Very often, the birds will come to you. I have never been able to figure out way, but it happens consistently enough so that I now expect it. All of these photos were taken with a very long lens (after cropping in the 1000=1200mm equivalent field of view range), and I stood still and waited for the birds. After taking these photos, I continued to stand until the birds had moved well away. Even so, it is not something I would do every day. Once a week is about my limit. And I remind tourists on every visit. Mind the ropes, control your kids and pets, and do not chase the birds. Still, Plovers nest successfully on visited beaches for a reason—not simply because there is nowhere else for them to nest. Human activity means there are fewer predators. Dogs mean no cats or foxes. Human presence discourages gulls and pigeons from opportunistic feeding on eggs and chicks. Often, there is a paid nest monitor on sight to further protect the nests and chicks. As long as we respect the birds, we get to enjoy them, and they produce more viable chicks to aid the recovery of the species. Win-win, as they say. Sony a7CR. Tamron 50-400 as above. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.