Today’s Creation Season prayer item is the piping plover. Isn’t it adorable?! Even its scientific name is fun to say: Charadrius melodus.

It is also endangered here in Michigan.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says this: “The piping plover is a small shorebird and its Great Lakes Population is on the brink of extinction. When first listed as endangered in 1986, only 17 pairs nested in Michigan. Numbers have increased since then and piping plovers have expanded their range back into Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ontario, Canada; although in small numbers.”

The MSU Extension describes the steps people and governments can take to protect the piping plover: “Habitat destruction, habitat alteration and human development of shorelines has resulted in the extirpation of Piping plovers from most formerly occupied Great Lakes states. Marina construction, inlet dredging, and artificial structures such as breakwalls, can eliminate breeding areas and disrupt natural processes that maintain shoreline habitats. Local planning and zoning boards can address this problem by incorporating shoreline protection and Piping plover habitat needs into land use plans and permitting processes. It is very important to protect current and historical nesting habitat, as well as potential breeding sites to allow population growth and to support the population in the future.”

We can pray for the piping plovers that are in Michigan, thank God that their numbers are increasing, and ask that people will continue to act in ways that will protect this lovely little shorebird.

Listen to its call:

Watch how fast it can run: