Piping Plovers in Canada – What You Need to Know

Canada is committed to protecting species at risk and conserving biodiversity for present and future generations. The Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus ), a small shorebird species, depends on collective conservation efforts to ensure its survival. Every member of the public has a role to play in safeguarding species at risk and their habitats.

This document is designed to help individuals, landowners, recreational users, and stakeholders understand how their actions can affect Piping Plovers and their critical habitat. It complements the Amended Recovery Strategy and Amended Action Plan for the Piping Plover melodus subspecies in Canada, which outlines the long-term objectives and recommended steps for the species’ recovery, provides practical guidance, and explains the federal protections in place for the species.

Whether you are visiting a beach, managing property that overlaps with critical habitat, or simply interested in learning more about Piping Plovers, this document will help you stay informed, make responsible decisions, and contribute to the survival of this endangered species.

Figure 1. Piping Plover adult (left; photo: Chardine 2009), nest in sand/cobble (top right; photo: ECCC - Mann, 10407W), and young chick (lower right; photo: Chardine 2009).

How you can make a difference for Piping Plovers

1. How can I help Piping Plovers?

If you live, work, or spend time near beaches where Piping Plovers nest, raise chicks, rest and feed, you play an important role in their survival. Federal and provincial laws protect the birds and their habitat, but you can help too. Being a “good beach helper,” you can make a real difference for these tiny, endangered birds. Every small action adds up to safer places for plovers and their families.

Here’s how you can help:

• ✔ avoid nesting areas during the Piping Plover’s nesting season (1 May to 15 August)
• ✔ watch for posted signs or roped-off areas and keep clear of them (see Figure 2)^{Footnote 1}
• ✔ stay on boardwalks or marked trails, walk on the wet sand, and avoid dunes and vegetation (see Figure 3)
• ✔ keep dogs leashed or leave them at home during Piping Plover’s breeding season.
• ✔ do not drive vehicles on the beach
• ✔ move away towards the water if a Plover calls loudly, flies away, or pretends to be injured
• ✔ leave natural items like driftwood, seaweed, and shells in place
• ✔ leave No Trace - pack out all garbage and food to avoid attracting predators
• ✔ fill in any holes you dig so flightless chicks don’t get trapped
• ✔ report Piping Plover sightings to local conservation authorities

Figure 2. Piping Plover signs to increase public awareness and promote respectful beach use during the nesting season.

Figure 3. This image by Birds Canada shows where it is safe to walk to avoid disturbing Piping Plovers; dunes should also be avoided as they are sensitive habitat.

2. Could my activities affect plover habitat?

Yes. Some activities may harm Piping Plover habitat, even if you mean no harm.

Examples include:

• ✘ building houses, boardwalks, or trails on or next to nesting beaches
• ✘ removing sand, gravel, or cobble (small, rounded rocks)
• ✘ driving any vehicle on the beach or dunes (for example, ATVs, ORVs, trucks, dirt bikes, kite buggies)
• ✘ adding sand or other sediments, grading, or moving sand around (“beach nourishment”) or building sea walls or other stabilizing structures (“shoreline hardening”)
• ✘ beach grooming, raking, or removal of natural debris such as washed-up seaweed (wrack)
• ✘ spilling fuel or dumping waste

Even small changes to plover’s coastal habitats can have a big impact. Once habitat is damaged or lost, plovers may not return to nest.

These impacts aren’t just about large projects – everyday users may also affect Piping Plover habitat. The birds are protected by law in Canada, and the places they need to survive, and recover may also be protected under Species at Risk Act (SARA), the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 (MBCA), and/or provincial legislation. This means that anyone who visits, owns, manages, or works on or near a beach may have legal responsibilities.

This applies to:

• coastal property owners and developers
• governments and agencies managing beach access, infrastructure, or coastal projects
• tourism operators offering rentals, tours, or beach-based activities
• companies installing or maintaining infrastructure near beaches
• tourism operators, recreational users, and off-road vehicle drivers
• dog owners and beachgoers whose activities may disturb nesting birds

To stay within the law and protect Piping Plover habitat:

• check the Recovery Strategy for Piping Plovers to see if your area is identified as critical habitat
• avoid work between May and August, when Piping Plovers are nesting and raising chicks
• on federal lands: contact Environment and Climate Change Canada early to find out if you need a permit before starting work. By phone toll-free: 1-800-668-6767 or by email: sarapermittingatl@ec.gc.ca (Atlantic region), permislep.qc@ec.gc.ca (Quebec)
• on provincial or private lands: contact the relevant provincial authority to determine if permits or approvals are required
• follow protective measures such as respecting signs, staying outside roped-off areas or buffer zones, and, where possible, shift activities to different times or locations to avoid birds and/or their habitat

Meet the Piping Plover

3. What is a Piping Plover (melodus subspecies)?

The Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus melodus) is a small, sandy-coloured shorebird that nests only on ocean beaches in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. They lay their eggs directly on the sand or in cobble, making them especially vulnerable to disturbance, if people or animals come too close.

Canada also has an inland population of Piping Plovers, the circumcinctus subspecies, which nests around prairie lakes, river sandbars, and inland beaches in central Canada. This FAQ focuses on the melodus subspecies found in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.

4. Where can I find them?

In Canada, melodus Piping Plovers are most often found on wide, ocean beaches in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. They like places with dunes, tidal flats, shallow pools, and natural materials like washed-up seaweed, driftwood, and shells. These habitats provide safe nesting and resting sites and important feeding areas to raise their families.

5. Why is the Piping Plover endangered?

The melodus subspecies is listed as Endangered under SARA.

Piping Plovers have declined because of:

• loss of habitat from development, erosion, and climate change affecting beaches and dunes
• disturbance from people, pets, and vehicles on nesting beaches
• predation by wild and domestic animals
• severe weather, such as storms or high tides, that can wash away nests or otherwise harm Piping Plovers

Because Piping Plovers only nest on ocean beaches, they rely on a very specific habitat. These beaches are popular with people and also vulnerable to storms, which makes the nests and chicks especially at risk.

6. How do people disturb Piping Plovers?

Piping Plovers make their nest right on the sand, and their eggs and chicks are extremely well-camouflaged, making them hard to see (see nest in Figure 1 and Figure 4). Even people who mean no harm can disturb plovers. Piping Plovers are easily disturbed by people, dogs, and nearby activity.

Figure 4. A Piping Plover nest containing a single egg, camouflaged against the sand. Photo: ECCC - McKnight, 10922B.

Figure 5. A Piping Plover performing a “broken-wing” display - a common behaviour used to distract predators from its nest. Photo: ECCC - Mann, 10407W.

When Piping Plover adults feel threatened, they may:

• call out with a sharp alarm call (“peep!” or “peep-lo”)
• fly away from their nest or chicks
• perform a “broken-wing” display, pretending to be injured to lure intruders away (see Figure 5)

You may be disturbing a plover if you notice any of these behaviors. Even quiet or careful actions, like walking too close to a nest or passing nearby with a dog, can trigger them. Frequent disturbance can cause adults to abandon nests or prevent them from successfully raising chicks.

If a Piping Plover calls, flies away, or shows a “broken-wing” display, calmly and quietly move away towards the water, giving the birds space to return to their nest or chicks.

To hear a Piping Plover alarm call: All About Birds – Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Understanding Piping Plover critical habitat

7. What is critical habitat for Piping Plover?

Critical habitat is the habitat a species needs to survive or recover, as described in SARA. For Piping Plovers, this includes the intertidal zones^{Footnote 2}, ocean beaches^{Footnote 3}, and first dunes^{Footnote 4}, that the species has used for nesting, raising chicks or feeding and that are mapped in the final Recovery Strategy for the species.

These areas provide the features Piping Plovers need to survive:

• dry, elevated ground above the tide, safe for nests and chick movement
• open sand, gravel, or small, rounded stones (cobble) with little vegetation for nesting
• first dunes with coastal vegetation (ranging from sparse to dense) that provide shelter, cover, and protection for the beach and the birds
• natural shelter materials such as wrack (washed-up seaweed), driftwood, and shells
• gently sloping beaches that allow birds to see predators from far away
• moist, sandy, or muddy areas in the intertidal zone that support prey such as worms, crustaceans, and insects
• wrack, shallow pools, and natural debris near nesting areas that attract prey

Once you are in the areas mapped as critical habitat, it is important to avoid activities that could destroy these features. Detailed examples of activities likely to result in the destruction of critical habitat are provided in the species Recovery Strategy.

8. Why is avoiding destruction of critical habitat important?

When Piping Plover populations are healthy, it usually indicates intact, functioning beaches. Protecting their habitat helps conserve sand dunes, beach vegetation, and other coastal wildlife that depend on these coastal areas to survive.

Laws and enforcement

9. How are Piping Plovers protected?

Piping Plovers are migratory birds protected across Canada under federal law, including SARA and the MBCA. Provinces may also have rules that protect Piping Plovers. Other sections (see responses to questions # 7 and 8) explain how the places they need to survive may also be protected.

Under federal law, unless you have a federal permit, it is against the law (an offence under SARA and the MBCA) to:

• ✘ capture, kill, harm, take, injure, or harass a Piping Plover
• ✘ possess, collect, buy, sell or trade a Piping Plover or any part of it
• ✘ damage, destroy, remove, or disturb a nest (its “residence” under SARA) during the breeding season (May 1 - August 15)
  Note: Nests are also protected under the MBCA when occupied by a bird or viable egg
• ✘ destroy, take, or disturb an egg

More information:

A species-specific residence description is available for Piping Plover. For details, see: Piping plover (Charadrius melodus) residence description

10. How does SARA protect critical habitat on federal lands?

Under SARA, once critical habitat on federal lands is identified in a recovery strategy or action plan, steps are taken to put legal protection in place.

This protection can take the form of:

• descriptions in the Canada Gazette for critical habitat inside federally protected areas (such as National Parks, National Wildlife Areas, and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries). These descriptions trigger legal protection under subsection 58(1) of SARA 90 days after publication
• protection orders or statements for critical habitat on other federal lands outside protected areas, if no existing laws already provide protection

Once legal protection is in place, it is against the law to destroy the critical habitat identified in the species’ Recovery Strategy.

11. How does SARA protect critical habitat on non-federal lands?

You can learn about the protection of species at risk and their habitats on private land by visiting the Education Centre Webpage.

In addition, provinces may have their own habitat protection measures through laws or other processes. If you plan to work in a coastal area, always check with the relevant provincial authority to make sure you are following their rules.

12. How are laws enforced?

Wildlife Enforcement Officers regularly patrol beaches during the nesting season. They may respond to complaints or reports, or conduct planned enforcement activities to verify compliance with the law.

Breaking the laws that protect Piping Plovers, their nests, eggs, or their habitat can result in warnings, fines or other legal consequences.

Got more questions? Find more answers!

13. Need more information?

For more information about Piping Plovers and their protection:

• Species at Risk Public Registry
• Migratory bird permits and registries
• SARA permits and agreements
• Piping plover in eastern Canada: fact sheet - Canada.ca
• Avoiding harm to migratory birds - Canada.ca
• Piping Plover Conservation Program - Birds Canada | Oiseaux Canada
• contact your provincial wildlife department for local rules and guidance

If you’re planning an activity that could affect Piping Plovers or their habitat, you may need permits under federal or provincial law. Please contact:

Environment and Climate Change Canada
Toll-free: 1-800-668-6767
Email: sarapermittingatl@ec.gc.ca (Atlantic region), permislep.qc@ec.gc.ca (Quebec)

Or contact the appropriate provincial authority to determine if permits or approvals are required.