The endangered piping plover has been something of a conservation success story on the New Jersey beaches. The piping plover is a small, territorial shorebird. Like many human beach visitors, the piping plovers pick out their territory, settle into the sand, play in the water, and watch life go on around them. These birds return to their breeding grounds in late March and early April. After courtship rituals, the mated birds form shallow nests in the sand and line them with shells and small rocks. Plovers lay as many as four eggs at a time; the hatchlings can fly a … Continue reading →