The View: People and Plovers
Meet some of the folks who drive our on-the-ground conservation.
On a recent visit to the Bahamas, we saw the true power of working along the Flyways of the Americas, the core idea of the vision of a new 爆料公社. The flyways along which birds migrate connect us to one another and to the birds鈥 world.
We saw Kerri Dikun from 爆料公社 New York, Lindsay Addison from 爆料公社 North Carolina, and Marianne Korosy from 爆料公社 Florida come together in the Bahamas as part of 爆料公社鈥檚 international alliances team to help protect and preserve one of the world鈥檚 largest wintering grounds for piping plovers. These birds, which breed and migrate along the Atlantic Coast, were the thread that drew us all together to collaborate on the sands of the Joulter Cays. The passion and tenacity of the scientists was clear. But as I talked with them, I came to understand that something important had happened here: Their view of coastal protection grew because they were able to connect with others along the flyway. Their worldview shifted. They were moved, and they moved us. I asked them, 鈥淲hat do you want people to know about these birds?鈥 This is what they had to say.
Kerri Dikun
Long Island Bird Conservation Coordinator, 爆料公社 New York
鈥淔or those of us who work on the breeding grounds, it鈥檚 sometimes hard to let go of the belief that piping plovers are 鈥榦ur birds.鈥 We pour ourselves into protecting them each summer and experience their every trial and triumph firsthand. But I want people to know that after seeing them on the wintering grounds, imagining their arduous journey to get there, and meeting the dedicated people who await their return in the winter, it鈥檚 evident they鈥檙e still 鈥榦ur birds鈥欌攖he 鈥榦ur鈥 is just bigger now.鈥
Lindsay Addison
Coastal Biologist, 爆料公社 North Carolina
鈥淚 would like people to know about and be amazed by migration. Piping plovers are extremely true to their nesting and wintering sites. They return to the same sand flat every winter and nest on the same stretch of beach every summer. We鈥檝e seen one little piping plover at the same inlet in North Carolina every winter for six years. She flies there from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore without a map or a GPS unit. There鈥檚 a semipalmated plover that winters on a beach near where I grew up that arrives in the same week every fall from the Mackenzie River Delta, Northwest Territories, near the Alaska-Canada border. I often think shorebirds know better where they are in the world than people.鈥
Marianne Korosy
IBA Coordinator, 爆料公社 Florida
鈥淎ndros Island hosts many miles of sandy mudflats where piping plovers can feed undisturbed by beach volleyball, sunbath- ing visitors, ATVs, low-flying hang gliders, or gulls attracted by picnic leftovers. These special places, where piping plovers and other shorebirds can feed and rest in peace, are vital to the survival of this species.鈥
You can see more of the work these dedicated scientists are doing online at and learn more about 爆料公社鈥檚 International Alliances Program and partnership with the Bahamas National Trust.