Piping Plover goes to jail

On June 3rd and 4th I took a quick trip to Tawas Point State Park, Tuttle Marsh NWA and Nayanquing NWR.  It was a short, but great change of scenery.  

The best bird I saw was the Piping Plover.  On the morning of June 3rd her nest was surrounded by orange traffic cones.  I wondered, how is that going to work?  The nest must have been newly discovered because when I went back in the evening to check on her, the cones had been removed and she seemed comfortable in her new digs.

 

Until I downloaded the photos, I did not see the eggs and I mistakenly deleted a photo where the eggs were in plain view.   

In the morning there was only one bird.  I thought she was waiting for a mate to arrive.  But when I went back in the evening, her mate was present and I also noticed their two eggs (visible in the photos 2, 3 and 4).

 Piping Plover jail to keep everyone safe.  So cute!

Notice the bands on both legs of both birds.