Parenting skills: Plovers vs. Terns 7/20/2022

I always wonder who has the hardest job as parents- Piping Plovers or Least Terns. Piping Plover chicks are precocious which means that they are independent and fully mobile right after being born. They run around on the beach and visit the wrackline where the tides have washed up seaweed for food- usually insects. Least Tern chicks are semi-precocious as they are fully mobile, but they stay near their nest in the rocks or sand and rely on their parents for food until they fledge. Both sets of parents have a tough job. Piping Plover parents need to run all over the beach after their chicks to try and keep them safe. When the chicks are really young, they hide under Mom or Dad when they hear the piping distress call.

Least Tern chicks need a steady supply of fish from Mom and Dad until they are able to fly and catch fish on their own. In the left picture below, you can just see a new chick in the rocks and a juvenile Least tern in the seaweed just behind it. Both need lots of fish!