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The piping plover is an endangered shorebird that relies on sand and pebble beaches along the Atlantic Coast to nest and raise young. Description: Adults are about 17 cm long and weigh 43-64 grams (about six toonies). Sand-coloured backs and heads help piping plovers stay camouflaged on the beach. In spring-summer, adults have orange legs, an orange bill with a black tip, a white belly, and black bands on their forehead and around their neck. In the late summer, adults lose their black feathers and their beaks turn black. Distribution: Two populations of piping plovers nest in Canada: the eastern Canada population and the Prairie and Great Lakes population. In spring-summer, the eastern piping plovers are found on sand and pebble beaches from Newfoundland to South Carolina. In fall-winter, plovers are found along the coast of southeastern U.S.A. and the Caribbean Islands. In Nova Scotia, piping plovers breed on less than 30 beaches, along the South Shore (Shelburne to Halifax Co.), North Shore (Pictou and Antigonish Co.), and in Cape Breton (Victoria, Inverness and Cape Breton Co.). Many traditional breeding beaches have been lost due to natural and humaninduced changes. Where do plovers nest?: Piping plovers nest on wide sand, gravel, or cobble beaches, barrier island sandspits, or peninsulas in marine coastal areas. The male and female make a “scrape,” a shallow depression (10 cm wide) in the sand or cobble. Their camouflaged eggs and flightless chicks are difficult to see on the sand, thus people, dogs or vehicles can crush them by accident.