NATURALIST'S 



NOTEBOOK 



TOP LEFT: An adult piping plover is found near an exclosure protecting a nest. TOP RIGHT: Joanna Harrington erects 

 an exclosure at Cape Point. BOTTOM LEFT: Mania Lyons and Stephen Hartsfield survey South Point for plover activity. 

 BOTTOM RIGHT: Piping plover fledgling takes first flight along Hatteras Island. 



A Fadins Tune: 



N. 



Piping Pbverujunt Drops 



By Katie Mosher • Photographs by Michael H alminski 



lorth Carolina's coastline has a Then, come spring, other pairs of of A Birder's Guide to Coastal North 



unique double-edged draw for the tiny plovers — ones that likely wintered farther Carolina. 



piping plover. south — search out spots near North And, during migratory periods, areas 



Our string of barrier islands provides a Carolina inlets to nest and hatch their young, such as Hatteras Island may be critical 



winter home to dozens of the threatened "We are the only state that has "staging grounds" where the plovers forage 



shorebirds known for their distinctive appreciable numbers of nesting and for food, says Kevin Moody, staff biologist 



flutelike call. wintering pairs," says John Fussell, author Continued 



COASTWATCH 23 



