Piping plovers nest successfully in Green Bay

Ten piping plover fledglings were successfully produced at two breeding sites in lower Green Bay this spring and summer, a promising sign for recovery of this endangered species.
Audubon Great Lakes staff and volunteer monitors working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources helped monitor and protect nesting activities.
Six of the chicks fledged successfully in the wild while four chicks were reared in captivity and released.
For the second year in a row — and second time in recorded history — a new pair of plovers nested at Longtail Point, a significant development for the region’s efforts to recover this species.
In 2023, Longtail Point became home to a pair of nesting Piping Plovers for the first time. This first pair of plovers laid four eggs, which were eaten by a predator before they hatched.
This year’s nest at Longtail Point was in an area that many beachgoers annually utilize during the summer.
After initial successful incubation by the pair after the nest was discovered in mid-June, staff and volunteer monitors observed that the male disappeared the night of July 4 and never returned. Because abandonment by a male at this stage of incubation is extremely rare, it was presumed that the male was possibly stressed by holiday celebrations close to the nest, and perhaps predated by a dog or natural predator.
When one parent is lost, the fate of the nest is at stake.
The four eggs were collected by USFWS workers, and the eggs were hatched and chicks raised in captivity at the University of Michigan Biological Station until they reached fledging age.
The chicks were released at Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan in mid-August, in time to migrate south.
Since being listed as federally endangered in 1986 under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, Great Lakes piping plovers have made a slow but steady recovery across the Great Lakes.
This season, a record 81 pairs were observed nesting across the region.
This success is in part due to the population spreading outside of Michigan, remaining steady in Wisconsin, and recolonizing a site on Lake Superior and multiple sites on Lake Michigan in Illinois.

Fishing update
The first wave of spawn-minded Chinook salmon and brown trout has entered some Lake Michigan harbors, but most are still staging within a mile or two of river mouths.
The next significant rainstorm could lure more into the tributaries.
Charter captains from Kewaunee to Sturgeon Bay reported one of their all-time best months in August, with solid numbers of salmon — Chinooks, cohos and pinks — and trout, mostly rainbows (steelhead) but an occasional brown or laker, too.
Most Green Bay anglers are targeting yellow perch, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleyes. The larger predators will get more active as water temperatures start to drop.
On the inland scene, panfish and bass are providing plenty of action for anglers using live bait, spinners or jig and plastic combos, and inland trout action has been decent for those willing to endure the late-summer biting bugs and dense vegetation.

‘Fish Thief’ premiere
An award-winning documentary film, “The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery,” premiered last week in Owen Sound, Ont.
The film tells the tale of the fight to save the Great Lakes fishery from the sea lamprey.
Great Lakes Fishery Commission executive secretary Marc Gaden said that without sea lamprey control, there would be few whitefish, trout, salmon and other species.
“The Great Lakes as a whole would be a mere shadow of the $7 billion resource we enjoy today,” Gaden said.
The film is a result of more than seven years of production.
It’s not yet available to the public as the Commission continues to search for an appropriate service to host the film.
Meanwhile, learn more and watch the trailer at https://skyhoundmedia.com.

Early hunts
The early goose, early teal and mourning dove hunts all opened Sept. 1, and black bear hunting for those baiting began Wednesday.
Next up is the bow and crossbow deer, fall turkey and a number of small game hunts Sept. 14, which is also youth waterfowl weekend.
The early goose season has an increased daily bag limit of five Canada geese, and targets the resident goose population before the fall migration passes through the state.
The 2024 population estimate for Wisconsin-breeding Canada geese is nearly 155,000 — more than 40% higher than the long-term average.