Piping Plover Chicks: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, July 2026 — I had not seen the Piping Plover chicks since they were 2 days old. I found them again the other day—or to be more precise—they found me. The parents were doing their chicks on a loose thing, thought there were no chicks in sight, so I sat down on my folding stool and waited. Sure enough, the first one, and then the other came down across the protected area at the top of the dune and out onto the beach. I sat and watched and snapped while they made their way to the tide-line for a snack, and then, eventually, headed back into the protected area. At two weeks old, they have grown considerably, but they are still mostly fluff on long legs. As you see they are beginning to stretch their wings. Their eyes are fully open now, though, which makes them marginally easier to focus on. 🙂 Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 Contemporary at between 600 and 800mm equivalent field of view crops. Program with bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.