Covehead Harbour, a large white bird, bigger than an adjacent Great Blue 
     
     Heron, attracted his attention. He immediately recognized it as a American 
     
     White Pelican, a bird only delisted from the Committee on the Status of 
     
     Endangered Wildlife in Canada's Endangered Species List in 1987. As Geoff put 
     
     it, "It was the birding thrill of a lifetime". . ' 
     
    

    
     The American White Pelican breeds from Wood Buffalo National Park to V 
     
     southern California and from southeastern Manitoba to Central Alberta. While 
     
     they have been sighted before in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, 
     
     this is the first known record for Prince Edward Island. ‘ 
     
    
   
   
    
     PIPING PLOVER RECOVERY TEAM MEETS by.Dan McAskill 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Natural History Society sent 2 delegates to the Atlantic Piping 
     
     Plover Recovery Team meeting on October 24 and 25 in sackville, N.B. to 
     
     present the findings of the Society's summer project on the Piping Plover. At 
     
     .the meeting, they joined Charlie Ristau of the P.E.I. National Park, 
     
     representatives of the Canadian Wildlife Service, the N.S. Department of 
     
     Natural Resources, the N.B. Department of Natural Resources, Mines, and 
     
     Energy, the U.S..Fish and Wildlife Service, and organizations from the 
     
     Magdalen Islands.and Miscou. I ' - _ - ' 
     
    

    
     ' The preliminary totals of the canadian portion of the Atlantic section 
     
     of the Piping Plover population suggest that the decline in Piping Plover has 
     
     been stopped. In Prince Edward Island the stopping of the decline is the 
     
     direct result of the protection efforts of the P.E.I. National Park. The 
     
     success of nesting pairs outside the park this past summer was only 0.6 young 
     
     fledged per pair while the Piping Plover in the park, because of the intensive 
     
     protection program, were able to fledge approximately 1.4 young per pair. 
     
    

    
     After considering the preliminary reports on the International Census 
     
     and the reports of the participants on monitoring, studies, and education _ 
     
     efforts, the Canadian Piping Plover Recovery Plan was reviewed in detail. A 
     
     number of changes were made in the plan and these will be presented to the 
     
     'Prairie Piping Plover Recovery Team in the near future. ’ * . . 
     
    

    
     The following abstract will provide the members of the Society with a 
     
     summary of the Society's 1991 Environment Week Project. This report will be 
     
     published in the near future. 
     
    
   
   
    
     ABSTRACT 1 Population Estimates, EduCation Initiatives, and Surveys of Public 
     
     Awareness on the Piping Plover on Prince Edward Island, 1991 by Dan McAskill 
     
     and Ben Hoteling. . ‘ 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Natural History Society of Prince Edward Island Ltd. (NHSPEI), 
     
     supported by funds from an Environment Week grant, conducted the Prince Edward» 
     
     Island Section of the 1991 International Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) _ 
     
     Census, public awareness surveys, an educational program, a landowner contact 
     
     program, and a Piping Plover workshop during the summer of 1991.. 
     
    

    
     In order to accomplish as accurate a census as possible, the P.E.I. 
     
     Section of the.Internationavaensus was compressed into the June lst to 9th 
     
     period by the_use of 47 volunteers. During this time period, approximately 142 
     
     kilometers on the 52 beaches with suitable nesting habitat outside the P.E.I. 
     
     National Park were surveyed by the NHSPEI volunteers. A total of 28 pairs and 
     
     8 single Piping Plover were sighted. The P.E.I. National Park-beaches were 
     
     ‘surveyed by Parks and People staff under a Canadian Parks-Service contract. 
     
     They surveyed 7 beaches and 23 pairs of Piping Plovers were sighted during the 
     
    
   
   
    
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