Local nature photographer, Grace Scalzo, has spent hundreds (maybe thousands) of hours observing Long Island’s Piping Plovers.

Piping Plovers are considered a threatened and endangered species, much to the chagrin of many beach goers, but when you see how small and fragile the chicks are it might be more understandable.

The Fire Island National Seashore has an active management plan, restricting access to the beach in many places when nesting season starts.

The time that these small shorebirds spend here is fast and action packed, with arrival in mid-March, followed by mating, nest (scrape) building, egg laying, hatching, feeding, and finally fledging, all within about five months.

During the summer of 2016, Grace realized that her body of work includes photos of  their entire breeding and nesting cycle.

With the hope of inspiring children to learn about and care for our natural world, she wrote and published her second children’s book, Piping Plovers on the Beach.

It is filled with 45 photographs, and accompanied by a simple yet accurate story that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

Hopefully now that you have seen these tiny shorebirds up close, you will be inspired to share the beach with them for a few of the summer months.

Piping Plovers on the Beach is available as an ebook at  Blurb  and at  Itunes.

Image wrap (Hard cover with premium matte paper) and soft cover versions also available.  Contact Grace  for information.

Follow Grace on Facebook and at Grace Scalzo Photography.

Below are just a few of the images featured in the book, please scroll though all three pages with a bonus video on page 3.

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Piping Plover on Scrape

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Piping Plover Chick Striding

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Cotton Ball With Legs

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Chick Foraging with Worm