Where are the Great Lakes Piping Plovers now?

Because we band Great Lakes Piping Plovers with color bands that can be uniquely identified using binoculars, spotting scopes, and photography, we know the winter territories of 70% of the Great Lakes breeding adults. We also know the wintering sites of many of the young plovers that haven't yet begun to nest. This map shows where we've gotten migration and wintering reports during the past three years. Those locations above the white dashed line are migration reports; those below are winter territories.

You can take part in this research by reporting your observations of Piping Plovers to plover@umn.edu.