OHIO — For the first time in nearly 80 years an endangered bird species native to Ohio has returned, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
ODNR said the piping plover, which is both federally and state endangered, was spotted in a nest in Maumee Bay State Park in Lucas County. The small, stocky shorebird migrates and uses open, sandy beaches for nesting.
The population was put on the endangered list in 1986 and has only 32 recorded nests, most of them in Michigan along the Great Lakes, accoridng to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife resources.
“The birds have constructed a nest on the park’s inland lake beach. While the birds work on raising the next generation of piping plovers, a portion of the beach will remain closed to protect this federally endangered bird. Visitors are reminded to give the birds plenty of space. It is illegal to harass or harm the birds, eggs, or nest of a migratory bird,” ODNR stated in a press release.
ODNR said the species is endangered mostly because of development, losing their beach habitats over time.
Conservationalists are currently trying to protect the piping plovers at the state park with Black Swamp Bird Observatory. Volunteers are working two-hour shifts to keep an eye on the nest.
The Black Swamp Bird Observatory have dubbed two of the birds as Nellie and Nish, which even have their own Facebook page.
