To celebrate Mother’s Day this year, we’re on Jones Beach Island in New York, where piping plovers are helping their newly hatched chicks prepare to leave the nest—just hours after they hatch. While mom and dad were sitting on the unhatched eggs, if a predator, such as a fox, raccoon, or house cat were to get too close, they’d fake an injured wing and limp away from the nest to distract the animal. That’s some extra-mile parenting! Who knows if that little chick will remember to call mom this time next year…
The parenting of a piping plover
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Walking among the giants
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New York City Marathon
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Not your average sandcastle
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Wheels up in Beijing
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Earth Day and National Park Week
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Talk like a pirate—or walk the plank
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Great Fountain Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
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Seasonal lights dazzle in Japan
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Happy Birthday, Eiffel Tower
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A dramatic view of Sicily
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Steyr River, Austria
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Winter in the Finnish wilds
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Hemakuta Hill, Hampi, India
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A Flag Day tradition
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An underwater rainbow
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New Year s Day
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Sequoia National Parks 134th anniversary
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Mandarin duck, Richmond Park, London, England
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A prison fit for a count
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Autumn comes to the Porcupines
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Where the glow of the holidays lingers
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A hint of spring
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GOAL!
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Groundhog Day
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Southern lights for Antarctica Day
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What’s blooming in New Zealand?
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Pasadena Chalk Festival supports local arts education
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Australian baobab tree, Kimberley region, Western Australia
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Look before you leap
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Brown-throated three-toed sloth in cecropia tree, Costa Rica