Bird watching: Endangered piping plovers spotted in Duluth

Conservationists in Duluth are hopeful that an endangered bird is on the cusp of nesting in the area for the first time in more than 30 years.

The piping plover is a small robin-sized shorebird that nests on wide, open beaches around the Great Lakes. But as that shoreline has been developed, the birds have lost much of their habitat.

In 1990 there were only 12 nesting pairs left. Now there are 70, in Michigan, Wisconsin and Canada.

Earlier this month, two plovers arrived on Park Point, the sand spit that extends seven miles into the Duluth harbor. Kris Eilers with the St. Louis River Alliance said they could be waiting for mates.

"When we see two of them on our beach here, it's a pretty big deal, because generally we will see one for a couple of days, and then it will leave," said Eilers.

Eilers' group and the city of Duluth are asking the public to stay away from where the plovers were spotted until the nesting season ends in mid -June. They're also encouraging dogs to be leashed. Eilers says loose dogs and human activity are the biggest deterrent to successful plover nests.

The closest breeding plover pairs are in the Apostle Islands in northwest Wisconsin, where there were six in 2011, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Eilers said the plovers may be looking for new nesting sites with less competition.