Endangered piping plovers are back at Sauble Beach.

Hayley Roberts, outreach and education co-ordinator for the Plover Lovers group, said six of the tiny sand-coloured shorebirds have been spotted along the shoreline over the past few days, making this the 12th straight year that the birds have selected Sauble as their nesting grounds.

“We’re pretty excited. It’s exciting to see them back on the beach running around, peeping away,” she said Wednesday in an interview.

The group believes the first of the plovers arrived Monday, which is a few days earlier than the first recorded sighting last year.

At least three of the birds have been at Sauble before. That includes the female nicknamed Ms. Green Dots, who lost two clutches of eggs and all her male partners in 2016, but successfully fledged four chicks last year.

A male plover from Michigan has also been seen at the beach, along with another male nicknamed Mr. Blue Bands, who was with Ms. Green Dots last year.

Roberts said the plovers are now deciding where they want to nest on the beach.

Piping plovers, which are protected by both the federal Species at Risk Act and provincial Endangered Species Act, returned to Sauble Beach in 2007 after a 30-year absence.

Last year was one of the most successful for the piping plover recovery program at Sauble Beach, as seven chicks fledged and headed south for the winter. Five others were killed by ring-billed gulls.

Adult piping plovers typically arrive at their nesting grounds between mid-April and mid-May; often at the same beach where they nested previously.

The females lay three to four eggs and incubation only begins after the last one is laid so they can all hatch at the same time. Last year, the plovers began laying eggs around May 20.

Both the female and male plovers take turns sitting on the eggs. At Sauble, wire exclosures are placed over the nests to protect the eggs and chicks from potential predator attacks and a large area around the exclosure is roped off.

Chicks hatch about 26 to 30 days after incubation begins; usually by mid-June.

The time between when the chicks hatch and successfully fledge is when the birds are most vulnerable to being killed by a predator, such as gulls, dogs and foxes.

The Plover Lovers group is now looking for more volunteers to help monitor the piping plovers while they’re nesting at Sauble and until the chicks fledge. The volunteers also talk with beachgoers about the birds, answer questions and help to educate the public about how to help protect the plovers.

A volunteer training session is set for May 22 at Huron Feathers Presbyterian Centre.

Anyone interested can e-mail ploverlovers@gmail.com.