On the Shores of Lake Erie, Endangered Birds Catch a Lucky Break

Endangered piping plovers are a precocial species, which means they mobile after emerging their egg. (Credit: Shutterstock) Protecting species in peril doesn't happen overnight. Rather, it's all about stringing together small wins that, in the long-term, make all the difference. A little luck can also go far. When waves surged on the Pennsylvania coast of Lake Erie early this summer, it could easily have been the end for a nest of piping plover eggs caught in the water’s path. Fortunately, a dynamic team of biologists, zookeepers and volunteers swooped into action, rescuing the eggs and rearing them at a quiet facility at the tip of the Michigan mitten. Recently, young birds from those very eggs were released, in the hopes that they will join the 75 nesting pairs of birds sustaining this endangered population.