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An Update On Erwin

Lauren DinanContributed by Lauren Dinan, Nongame Bird Biologist

Erwin has been spotted once again in sunny Florida. For those of you that do not know, Erwin is “our” famous Piping Plover that was banded at a lakeshore housing development in Dodge County, Nebraska, as a three-day old chick in June 2011.  This one bird has been observed spending the winter at Bunche Beach near Fort Myers, Florida, the last three years in a row.  Erwin was spotted for the first time in 2014 on January 7th.  Erwin was most recently spotted just a few days ago on February 16th. He has now been sighted 46 times, here, since banded in 2011 and he seems to pose nicely for photographs.  The fabulous photos, below, were taken by Jesse Swift and Judd Patterson in 2014.

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Erwin running along the shore line at Bunche Beach near Fort Myers, Florida. Photo taken by Jesse Swift on 7 January 2014.
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Erwin posing for another photo. Photo taken by Jesse Swift on 7 January 2014.
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Erwin with his metal band and yellow over gray, black over yellow color bands. Photo taken by Judd Patterson on 17 February 2014 at Bunche Beach near Fort Myers, Florida.
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Another photo of Erwin. Photo taken by Judd Patterson on 17 February 2014.
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The three locations Erwin has been reported at over the last several years and the distance he travels between the summer and winter.

Now, the question is, how many more times will Erwin be spotted before he migrates north in the spring and will Erwin return to Nebraska to nest again this year? More information on Erwin can be found in one of our previous post. Thanks to Judd Patterson and Jesse Swift for permission to use their photos.………….. Nongame Bird Blog

About Joel Jorgensen

Joel Jorgensen is a Nebraska native and he has been interested in birds just about as long as he has been breathing. He has been NGPC’s Nongame Bird Program Manager for eight years and he works on a array of monitoring, research, regulatory and conservation issues. Nongame birds are the 400 or so species that are not hunted and include the Whooping Crane, Least Tern, Piping Plover, Bald Eagle, and Peregrine Falcon. When not working, he enjoys birding.

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