Plovers! Celebrating Nature.
Birds, restoration, and opportunities for worship.
Let’s celebrate nature with some good news stories, plus a little info and a few ideas about Plovers!
A news round up to bring you hope! Plus—a bird app!
The Cornell Lab Institute for Ornithology recognizes 68 species of plovers. Of which, a few are endangered or critically endangered, including the Piping Plover. As such, here is some good news about Piping Plovers to kick us off:
From UC Santa Barbara’s The Current, a resilience project is underway to mitigate sea level rise and support species such as the Snowy Plover, Dune restoration could increase the resilience of Southern California's urban beaches to sea level rise.
From Michigan’s MLive, which reported eight additional plover pairs in the count this month: Endangered piping plovers flourish under tribe’s watch on remote Lake Michigan island.
Additionally, Piping Plovers are garnering attention and gaining ground across the US, including in Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Illinois, Delaware and Maine:
From Wisconsin Public Radio: Captivity-raised piping plover chicks released in Wisconsin for the first time. There was a bevy of new chicks reported in The New Hampshire Register: With a record nesting season, one CT sandbar plays a critical role in piping plover comeback. There are declarations of protection in Delaware News: State and Federal Protection of Piping Plover Nest to Close Portion of Beach at Gordons Pond on Cape Henlopen. And there was a Plover Party in Maine.
Not to be left out, in news from the US Fish and Wildlife Service Piping Plovers—four of them!—have been reintroduced at Illinois Beach State Park to help with species recovery.
In Florida, conservationists are advocating to protect Wilson’s Plovers. The not-so-good news is that that population has dropped markedly. Addressing these challenges is important, and this is exactly where humans can be the Spirit for good we are called to be. From WCGU, Audubon Florida seeks to list Wilson's plover as threatened.
In the UK, a nature recovery project connects 176,000 hectares for wildlife recovery. Nature recovery projects to boost wildlife and access to nature: “Curlews, short-snouted seahorses and natterjack toads [and Ringed Plovers!] set to be benefit as six nature recovery projects are launched.”
Listen to the call of a Ringed Plover on this page from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, RSPB. And ignore the description under ‘Key Information’ that reads, “The ringed plover is a small, dumpy, short-legged wading bird.” Dumpy? They misspelled a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e.
Sadly, protections really are needed. Yes, it’s climate change. Additional heat is just the latest challenge, though. Birds—especially shoreline species—have been easy prey for those who would destroy nesting sites, dump wastewater and pesticides, and degrade, poison and destroy bird habitat in general.
More protections means a new ‘posse’ is emerging to ensure law breakers leave plovers and their nesting sites alone. When Piping Plover eggs were stolen by vandals in New York this summer, Feds launched a “manhunt” to bring the thieves to justice. CBS News reported the story: Feds on the hunt for suspects who stole eggs from nests of threatened piping plovers on Long Island. Additionally, US Fish and Wildlife offered a $5000 reward as reported in the Gothamist: Feds offer $5,000 reward for thieves who stole piping plover eggs from Far Rockaway beach.
Protections are ramping up globally, including in Australia where the news reported that a driver had run over a Masked Lapwing Plover’s nest, killing three chicks. The crime was described as “sickening,” and the man was identified and fined, Fine issued for killing plover chicks. The incident even made it to The Guardian: Man fined $718 for crushing plover chicks to death with his car on vacant Brisbane block.
Not all plovers make their homes on shorelines. Making news this summer was a Mountain Plover which somehow made it all the way from its preferred habitat—the grasslands of say Texas or Colorado—to a beach in Massachusetts. The excitement for MA birders made the news. From WCAI this article, A different kind of plover is very far from home, captures the spirit of doing right by the species of the earth by offering the time and energy needed to ensure nature—and plovers—thrive.
This encouraging article also shared the importance and fulfillment that comes from conserving, protecting, and defending this good Creation. From Morning Ag Clips this week, Mother-Daughter Pair Pursues Conservation of Nebraska’s Terns, Plovers.
Audubon and other wildlife organizations seek to encourage and resource those who want to pitch in to ensure a future for plovers in line with the commandment to ‘go forth and multiply.’ Two tools from Audubon to highlight. One is an app! Here is the link to learn more about the Audubon Bird Guide app, and a page (dated but still helpful) that includes tips for how to take great bird pics with your phone.
All of this news and information is lovely just for the sake of plovers. But too often stories and information like this never make it into a worship setting. In our faith communities we are so hungry for images and stories of the good creation. And, it is all the more important to engage these stories right now, as we are feeling the damaging impacts of our environmental and climate crisis.
Here are some ideas for how to bring these stories into a worship setting:
Tell one or more of these stories in a sermon.
Share this page with your prayer group, share a few of the stories listed here, and pray for plovers and those working to protect them.
Organize a trip to the shore and take bird pictures! Have the youth download the app to identify plovers and other bird species.
Use photos that were taken by the youth and congregation during worship by displaying them alongside prayers and hymns on the screen.
Have faith community folks write prayers to accompany the photos that were taken.
Is there an empty school room in the church? Haul all the ‘storage’ out of that room and put together a prayer space. Highlight birds in that space, with all the worshipful extras such as the sounds of birds on the shorelines, photos, player slips, and worshipful lighting.
Invite a speaker from a nearby Audubon chapter or US Fish and Wildlife to talk to the congregation.
In general, create opportunities to celebrate creation as well as the joy nature brings to everyone—including members of your family of faith. And remember, prayer is an action, too. As such, take action as an act of prayer and worship! Find out if volunteers are needed, and join in and volunteer!
Consider subscribing to JustCreation—it’s free!