Thread by @chicago_birder

Today is the last official day of #ploverwatch 2019. While the organized, dawn to dusk volunteer effort is winding down, we will continue to keep an eye on and root for them until they begin migrating south. Here's some preliminary stats on the effort... 1/?
photo @DigiNaturalist

First and probably most important stat from #ploverwatch 2019:

Over 125 individual volunteers covered shifts running from June 1st to today. This successful effort was simply not possible without these amazing people. We salute and deeply thank each and every one of them. 2/?

Starting June 1st, the plovers have been monitored every day by at least one volunteer from dawn till dusk (often even later). That's 11 weeks of continuous coverage and adds up to more than a whopping 1200 hours of volunteer time. 3/?
#ploverwatch
Photo: @DigiNaturalist

Additionally, numerous organizations/agencies supported #ploverwatch efforts from sharing resources to dedicating staff. Shout out to ones that are on twitter: @USFWSMidwest, @ChicagoParks, @IllinoisDNR, @lincolnparkzoo, @USDA, @shedd_aquarium. 4/6 (apologies if we missed anyone)

We should also point out that laws like the Endangered Species Act and programs like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, WORK. We would not be celebrating this and so many other recovery stories like it without them.

beta.washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…

Finally, not a stat but still important, a big round of applause for the #ploverwatch coordinators; @Chicagio, Matt Igleski and Tamima Itani. They spent literally countless volunteer hours coordinating, recruiting for, and informing the public about Chicago's Piping Plovers. 6/6