At the end of 4+ hours of censusing shorebirds on Duxbury Beach where Piping Plovers have been successfully breeding (20+ nests this summer, I realized that I had not seen a single PIPL despite thousands of busy shorebirds everywhere one looked (a census-ers nightmare!). I had one last stop (north of the Gurnet on ocean side) where at least 2 pair had nested, but since they had fledged at least a week previous, there was no assurance that they'd still be in the predictable area.

After walking north about 200 yds and seeing only a couple of Sanderlings (surprisingly few), I took one last scoping look at the wrack and stony flat places further north when something moved about 50 yds beyond me. An adult PIPL! Suspecting that it might not not be alone, I zoomed the scope and looked more closely at the immediate area and spotted the head of a juvenile almost invisible in the stones- and then another, and another, and another. When I examined this photo, I found one more! From famine to feast!

The census now reports 6 and could easily have been zero - despite the breeding success! Many thanks for the diligent efforts of the Mass. Audubon Coastal Waterbird crew and the Duxbury Harbormaster's conscientious team; their teamwork and constant attention make much-appreciated encounters like this possible!