Day 14.169: Piping plovers

As Exile #2 mentioned. we first heard and then saw an adult piping plover with three silent and incredibly cute chicks walking on the beach on Sunday morning:

We've heard about these birds - endangered in Maine - since we arrived here, but this was the first time we've identified a sighting. They are having a good year with more than a hundred nesting pairs counted this year - up from just 10 in 1981.