Piping plovers, a rare species of migratory shorebird, have begun returning to wintering grounds at Little St. Simons Island on the Georgia coast. Ornithologist Brandon L. Noel was able to observe firsthand the plovers’ long-distance migratory patterns when he visited plover breeding grounds near the Great Lakes in May for research conducted in cooperation with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division (WRD).

“I observed an individual that had previously wintered on Little St. Simons, identified by the leg bands,” said Noel, a graduate student at Georgia Southern University. “By July, that same bird had returned to his annual spot on the Georgia coast.”

Noel’s research has underscored the importance of this small, undeveloped island to the survival of almost half of the piping plovers that spend the winter in Georgia.

Piping plovers breed in the northern U.S. and Canada in the spring and early summer, and spend the remaining eight or nine months of the year in southern coastal areas. June is the only month that the Georgia coast has virtually no piping plover activity. They are about seven inches in length, are sandy-gray colored with a white underside, and have bright orange legs. They are sometimes called ringnecks because a dark band of feathers around the neck forms during breeding season. Their sandy winter plumage helps them hide from the falcons that hunt along the outer beaches of the coast.

The shorebirds breed in three geographically distinct areas. The two populations that breed annually in the Great Plains and on the northern Atlantic coast of the U.S. and Canada consist of about 3,000 individuals each, and are federally listed as a threatened species. The population breeding in the Great Lakes area numbers only about 200 individuals, and is listed as endangered. Many of the plovers that come to winter on Little St. Simons Island, or stop in on their travels between other wintering and breeding grounds, are from the small group that breeds on the beaches of the Great Lakes. This tiny population of plovers only has about 70 breeding pairs.

Noel has conducted more than two years of research on the species, adding significant findings to the base of almost ten years of observations made by WRD biologists.

“Based on population densities, Little St. Simons Island and the Altamaha River Delta could be the most important wintering site on the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. for the piping plover,” Noel said.

Few studies have been completed for this species on its wintering grounds, but Noel’s findings indicate the island – covering about 10,000 acres including its marshes – hosts a higher concentration of plovers on its beaches than previously thought. Noel’s research has reaffirmed the island’s significance by documenting how much time individuals from each breeding population spend on the island, including the endangered Great Lakes group. A number of the birds have been tagged with colored leg bands at their breeding grounds for identification in the field.

“During the 2004-2005 season, we documented 40 birds from the endangered Great Lakes population – roughly 20 percent of the total population – on Little St. Simons alone. Who knows how many more are on the Georgia coast?” Noel said.

The research project has been funded through various grants from groups such as The Environmental Resources Network and The Georgia Ornithological Society. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has contracted to use the data.

“Piping plovers are an imperiled species, and the Georgia coast is an important area for the species because we still have quality shorebird habitat that many other states do not have,” said WRD Sr. Wildlife Biologist Brad Winn. “This research highlights the importance of undisturbed coastal habitat, an increasingly rare entity in this country’s rapidly developing coastal counties.”

Piping plovers feed in inter-tidal areas of beaches, mudflats and algal flats. The nutrients in Georgia’s Altamaha River and its delta are thought to play a key role in supporting the invertebrates that make up the plover’s diet. The greatest threats to the species include beachfront development, disturbance by humans, predation, and polluted water.

In 2001, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated Little St. Simons Island and 15 other areas on the Georgia coast as critical wintering habitat for the piping plover. An international committee of shorebird experts also designated the Altamaha delta as a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve, based partly on the importance of the delta beaches for piping plovers.

Residents are encouraged to report sightings of piping plovers by calling (912) 264-7218.