The students six main are they

holds habitat together.

sections endangered;

what is being done;

e I ' , I I a I

— what does endangered mean~ why care; I

The Activity Book has what is endangered; why

do. Student - 5 develop a conservation ethic by learniigdhggét can my Class 1 at and what

in whatever subject they wish to work on

For example, enlarged (drawn,

to work on art skills,

and a huge map can . occupy one wall of add the major vegetation regions of CahggaC1assroom'

where they can find the information)

in the teacher's guide, areas where they are found endangered and threatened species

distribution,

From

using it

a ma of ' ' p Canada on a gr1d is included — this can b or photocopied to save time)e

Students then can I they are told u51ng the map provided

(as alway, there,

5 tudgfigsAcan put endangered species in the ctézéiy Book contains fact sheets on . as the piping plover below,

and Whooping Crane) the numbers of animals for various

conservation are dealt

I 0 “Description The Piping Plover is a small shorebird. slightly larger than a

house sparrow, averaging 1 centimetres long and weighing about 50 grams. It has a pale. sandy-grey back and white under- parts. in breeding (spring) plum- age there is a black ring aroun the lower neck and a black band across the forehead. but in winter these markings are reduced or dis- appear. The Piping Plover gets its name from its melodius call. A soft queeplo. often extended into queep queep queep queeplo.

O O 0 Distribution he Piping Plover has bred from central Alberta. southern Sask- atchewan. southern Manitoba, northern Michigan. and southern Ontario to southeastern South Dakota, central Nebraska. and the southern shores of lakes Michigan and Erie: also on the Atlantic coast from the North Shore of theCuli of St. Lawrence south to Virginia. It winters along the coast of the Cult oi Mexico from Texas eastward and on the Atlantic Coast from South Carolina to Florida, and rarely in the Bahamas and Greater Antilles.

_‘ , fl :. h—r‘.‘ devil-g.

know what skills are used in como‘nr‘

population size Students also learn about success

and by dealing with

etc.

Charadrius melOdUS

Population size and trends

The Piping Plover was always considered to be locally div tributed and generally uncom- mon. Records are scanty and it is diiiicult to estimate past breeding populations. However. observa- tions during the last 25 years indicate a great reduction in the numbers of this bird and that the species has praCtically disappeared irom certain parts of its former range, as in Ontario along Lake Erie shores. on the North Shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (QuebeCl. and in Chaleur Bay (Quebec). At most. 100 pairs may remain in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. 15 in Newfoundland. 75 in Nova Scotia. and 125 in the Mag. dalen islands (Quebec). The Sask- atchewan population may reach 500 pairs and there are slightly over 100 pairs in Alberta. The total Piping Plover population in Can- ada barely exceeds 1M pairs.

Habitat

Throughout its range the Piping Plover breeds exclusively on beaches along the seashore or along inland lakes and sloughs. In the Atlantic Provinces and on the

sandy beaches whereas it frequents

primarily pebble or mildly alkaline beaches in the Prairie Provinces.

Present distribution

General biology

his small plover is migratory out Tis not a long distance iiaseiler It is one of the litsi shoreoiros to return to the breeding grounds in spring, as early as the end or March in Nova Scotia. After the nesting season. birds assemble in small groups and by mid August “ml have departed for the winiering grounds. In spring and ate mm- mer, the birds that summer iiong the seashore move along the coast. to and lrorn their winlerin‘ grounds. Those that summer in- land may migrate directly mer- land, to or from the wintering 0r breeding grounds During mg". tion, the Piping Plover seldom associates with (>th thorn-x.“ and is often observed .mgt. or -n small groups. The nest is a shallow no- or- n sand. aboire the highwater “all It is often lined with mud stones and bits of shells. gun or debris pixed around the depression s normal clutch comprises 'Oul 2gp «mm are incubated by 00!” pueflls for an average at 2! Mn the e“: vary from cream to 1M brown and are sparsely mar-ed a-ih ura grey, black or dun blOar‘ ~001| and bI0tches Onre canned '7‘. young soon ieue "to ~~i am out usually remain ~-:h we )r in. parents. Tho "v moot ;‘ an after hatching

This plover 'eods r "ta-m small ctusiareani mi sits ind other invei'eouies award 5‘ loraging e-swe t u- \4" a. u pebblv neat-ta o'ien al --o waters edge

.4

EHI'IG'I

stories rates of increase,

geography,

physical education. 2 l"l'|

(such as the Wood Bison

1 a I and ' ' I Jate pro ectin Wlth at the Impskigeth: ffiture, mathematics and g H- e . s 1 hi; the lls key lets teachers

activity, and sample sched— are also included. The skills index includes science, visu 1 arts, research, language a mapping/graphing, math, out- doors, reporting, historv and music, drama and

Operation Lifeline also has many spinoffs. In New Bruns— wick, students have gotten involved in the Adopt—a— SpeCies Project, where stu— dents get to know an endan— gered species well. The ri ht whale, piping plover and g eastern panther have been adopted, but Tim said he ha not been having much luck S With the Furbish's Louse— wort! Students helped raise money to buy more boat time for Tim's right whale taggin Eéggect, and others will g surve ' ' this summeii.plplng plovers These and many other projects in the Activity Book, such as getting students to write to politicians or for more information, are action- oriented and let students know that there is something

they can do to he 1 r _ gered species. p enJan