Winter distributrion of piping plovers along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States

-We conducted winter surveys of Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) along the Atlantic Coast (December 1986-March 1987) and Gulf Coast (December 1987-March 1988) of the United States to identify specific wintering sites. A total of 222 Piping Plovers was observed on the Atlantic Coast (about 14% of the entire Atlantic Coast breeding population) and 1508 on the Gulf Coast (about 56% of the entire Great Lakes/Northern Great Plains breeding population). Highest Atlantic Coast estimates occurred in Georgia (N = 105; 47.5%), whereas the most plovers on the Gulf Coast occurred in Texas (N = 834; 55.3%). The survey included 1422 km of barrier beach on the Atlantic Coast (69% of the coast) and 1283 km on the Gulf Coast (50% of the coast). The greatest potential for locating more plovers in the United States is in South Carolina and Louisiana. However, a large percentage of the North American breeding population (particularly on the Atlantic Coast) probably winters outside the United States, thus future surveys should explore the Caribbean and Mexico. Received 28 April 1989, accepted 21 Nov. 1989. The Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) is a migratory shorebird endemic to North America, which was designated as threatened/endangered in 1986 (Federal Register 1985). Piping Plovers breed along the Atlantic Coast from Maritime Canada to North Carolina, along the Great Lakes, and in the northern Great Plains of Canada and the United States (Johnsgard 198 1, Haig and Oring 1985). The primary winter range is along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts from North Carolina to Mexico (Haig and Oring 1985). Knowledge of the winter distribution of migratory shorebirds is important because substantial mortality can occur during this portion of their annual cycle (Baker and Baker 1973, Evans 1976, Myers 1980). Such data are especially important for Piping Plovers because they can spend 7-8 months per year away from breeding areas (Haig and Oring 1985). Research on breeding areas has contributed knowledge of demographics (Wilcox 1959, Haig and Oring 1988a, b), behavior (Cairns 1982), and reproductive activity (Gaines and Ryan 1988, Haig and Oring 1988a). However, studies of wintering plovers are few (Haig and Oring 1985, Johnson and Baldassarre 1988). I Dept. of Zoology and Wildlife Science, Alabama Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, Aubum Univ., Alabama 36849. 2 (Present address JLN: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 75 Spring St., Atlanta, Georgia 30303. Present address GAB: Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York 13210.)