It’s appropriate that in this month of celebrating fathers we note a certain male Piping Plover in Truro who is setting the bar high for his conspecifics when it comes to parenthood.
World’s Best (Plover) Dad, photo by Debbie Barry
This is a bird who with his mate had a four-egg nest on Fisher Beach. Male plovers share incubation duties with females and this guy was no exception–in fact, we think he did more than his fair share.
But when the expected hatch date for the nest arrived, field technician Rachel Smiley found no cute chicks but a dead adult female. Not good. We’re not sure what animal killed her. Often when an adult mortality occurs, the surviving mate will abandon the nest.
But not this guy.
Male plover refuses to abandon his nest! (photo by Debbie Barry)
As the first two eggs hatched (plover eggs hatch within hours of each other), this plover dad demonstrated impressive multi-tasking skills by monitoring two highly mobile youngsters (who scurry around and feed themselves ) while still managing to incubate the remaining two eggs.
First hatched chick is ready to roll on Fisher Beach (photo by Debbie Barry).
We didn’t think he could pull it off. But a day later, this dedicated plover dad was seen on the beach with all 4 tiny chicks scooting around!
Dad with two of his four chicks (photo by Debbie Barry)
Our thanks to Truro coastal waterbirds volunteer Debbie Barry for documenting these birds and helping to keep us posted on the day-to-day developments.
P.S. Since this report was posted 24 hours ago, we’ve heard our super dad has fended off a dog and a crow in separate incidents. We are so rooting for this bird!