Piping Plover

I took a long bike ride over to Birdtown today and had a nice walk down Plover. Plover is on the southern edge of Birdtown, running parallel to the RTA Rapid Transit tracks. Most of the streets in Birdtown that start at Madison dead-end into Plover.

As I was walking the street I started wondering if Plover was the name of a bird or a historical name. I did some research and discovered it is a bird type with the Piping Plover making a rare return to Ohio in 2021. According to the Environmental Protection Agency website, a pair of these birds were discovered nesting at Maumee Bay State Park that summer for the first time in over 80 years. They were named Nish and Nellie, with Nish travelling to Ohio from Chicago and Nellie meeting up with him from Presque Isle, PA. In an amazing coincidence, my wife and I spent yesterday celebrating our wedding anniversary in the exact same location (Maumee Bay State Park) as these two lovebirds. I guess it truly is a romantic location.

I have also noticed many “Pick Up Poop” signs in tree lawns around town, but today I saw a City of Lakewood sign I have not seen before. Evidently, “Failure to Clean Up After Dogs” is against the law. I love dogs, but one thing cats have over them is they can be trained to do their business in a tiny box inside your house.