Record Numbers Bring Great Lakes Piping Plovers Closer to Recovery
Nearly 100 breeding pairs and a record 184 fledged chicks mark the strongest season for this endangered population since federal listing.
By Sarah Saunders
Senior Manager, Quantitative Science
Published October 07, 2026
This article is from Audubon Great Lakes
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Just a few decades ago, the Great Lakes Piping Plover population had dwindled to just a dozen breeding pairs, all confined to northern Michigan. Today, this tiny shorebird is writing a different story.
During the 2026 breeding season, the population of endangered Great Lakes Piping Plovers reached another major milestone, setting population records for the fifth consecutive year. A total of 99 pairs nested across the Great Lakes region and produced a record 184 fledged chicks, offering new hope for our beloved Piping Plovers.
This record is 11 more than the 88 pairs counted in 2025, and is the highest total since the population was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1986.
These gains reflect decades of persistence by the Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team, including federal, state, provincial, and Tribal partners; universities and zoos; nonprofit organizations; land managers; field staff; and dedicated volunteers. Their work shows what is possible when science, intensive management, habitat restoration, and community stewardship continue year after year.
A Season of New Records
Across the basin, monitors documented 101 nests and 84 wild broods. Sixty-five broods fledged 160 wild chicks, for an average of 1.6 wild fledglings per pair. That rate surpassed the annual recovery target of 1.5 and improved on the previous two seasons. When 24 captive-reared fledglings are included, the season produced 184 fledged birds, or 1.9 chicks per pair.
The season was not without losses. Seventeen nests failed, including nine associated with adult predation and four lost to washouts. But chick survival was strong across most of the season, allowing the population to turn a record pair count into a record number of young birds entering the population.
Captive Rearing Remains Critical
Captive rearing once again made the difference between losing vulnerable eggs and returning fledglings to the wild. Both male and female Piping Plovers incubate their nest, so eggs can be left at risk when an adult disappears. Storms can also wash out nests before the eggs hatch. In these situations, field teams may collect viable eggs and bring them to the captive-rearing center at the University of Michigan Biological Station in Pellston, MI.
In 2026, the program incubated 36 eggs. 26 chicks hatched, and 24 captive-reared fledglings were released into the wild. 13 zoos participated in the program. Those 24 birds otherwise would not have survived, making captive rearing an essential part of this season’s record success and a critical safeguard for a population that is still endangered.
Captive-reared chicks are released at sites where wild chicks or adult plovers are present, helping them transition to life on the beach while directly supplementing the wild population. The approach has helped buffer the population during difficult years and ensured that eggs threatened by storms, abandonment, or adult loss still have a chance.
Success Across the Great Lakes
Piping Plovers nested on all five Great Lakes again in 2026, continuing a pattern that began in 2017. Michigan remains the population’s stronghold, but successes elsewhere in the basin are especially important because the long-term recovery goal calls for at least 50 pairs outside Michigan.
Highlights from the 2026 season included:
- Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore: 32 pairs and 60 wild fledglings
- Wisconsin's Apostle Islands: Record-tying seven breeding pairs
- Cat Island, Green Bay: Five chicks fledged from two broods
- Pennsylvania: Ten fledglings from three broods
- Ontario: Nine fledglings from three broods
- Illinois: Two chicks fledged at Montrose Beach, plus four captive-reared chicks released in Waukegan
- Long Island and Chequamegon Point: Nine wild chicks fledged from three broods
One of the season's most encouraging success stories came from Cat Island in lower Green Bay. After extensive restoration work rebuilding portions of the Cat Island chain, Piping Plovers returned to nest there for the first time in 75 years. In 2026, two broods fledged five chicks at the site, demonstrating how strategic habitat restoration can create opportunities for endangered species recovery.
"Seeing Piping Plovers return to Cat Island after decades of absence demonstrates what's possible when habitat restoration and long-term conservation investment come together,” said Tom Prestby, Wisconsin Conservation Manager at Audubon Great Lakes.
Science and Partnership Behind the Comeback
By 1990, the Great Lakes population had fallen to about a dozen pairs, all in northern Michigan. Reaching 99 pairs did not happen through a single intervention. Partial beach closures, protective fencing and nest exclosures, frequent monitoring, predator management, captive rearing, public education, and habitat restoration all work together to give adults, eggs, and chicks the best chance to survive.
Long-term banding has also been central to the recovery effort. In 2026, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center banding crew banded 43 adults and 204 wild chicks. These unique bands allow scientists and observers to follow individual birds across breeding sites, migration stopovers, and wintering areas. Over more than three decades, banding data have helped the team understand survival, reproductive success, site and mate fidelity, and the conditions that help chicks survive their first year. Those insights guide management on the ground, from protecting early nests to safeguarding the feeding areas chicks need before migration.
This work depends on people as much as data.
“Local volunteers continue to play a vital role, contributing many hours of their personal time to monitoring, outreach and education,” said Jillian Farkas, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lead biologist for Great Lakes piping plovers. “With 99 pairs nesting in 2026, we remain hopeful that it’s possible for these plovers to reach their recovery goal of 150 breeding pairs.”
Volunteers monitor nests, answer questions from beachgoers, and report banded birds. Land managers protect and restore habitat. Researchers at the University of Minnesota and beyond evaluate what is working and help the team adjust as new challenges emerge. Since 2010, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding has expanded the monitoring and recovery actions that make this coordinated effort possible.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding has also helped restore and protect coastal habitat across the basin, creating and enhancing the beaches and islands that Piping Plovers depend on. Successes at sites like Cat Island demonstrate how these investments can deliver tangible benefits for endangered species and Great Lakes ecosystems alike.
Looking Ahead and Sharing the Shore
The long-term recovery goal is to sustain at least 150 breeding pairs for five consecutive years, including 50 pairs outside Michigan. At 99 pairs, the population has reached nearly two-thirds of the pair goal, but continued progress is not guaranteed. Predation, severe storms, changing lake levels, vegetation encroachment, and growing recreational use of beaches can quickly erase hard-won gains.
The record 2026 season gives us much to celebrate and a clear reason to keep investing in the work that brought the population this far. Protecting every nest and every bird remains important. So does restoring the dynamic beaches and islands that plovers need, maintaining long-term monitoring, and helping people understand how to share these special places.
Small actions by thousands of beachgoers can give Piping Plovers the room they need to rest, feed, and raise their chicks.
Five consecutive record-breaking seasons show just how far Great Lakes Piping Plovers have come. While challenges remain, this year's success offers powerful proof that sustained conservation works. Each fledged chick, restored beach, protected nest, and engaged volunteer brings the population one step closer to recovery.
The journey is not finished, but across the Great Lakes, tiny plovers are once again finding places to thrive.
