Nebraskaland Magazine
Contributed 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.
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.………….. 
