You can see: piping plovers in May

You can see

A cotton ball with legs. That's how some

describe the piping

plover, and it's an apt, if

unsympathetic, description for this pint-size shorebird.

Because the plover is considered a threatened species, state and federal agencies cordon off large swaths of beach each spring and summer to

protect its nests, which are virtually invisible shallow depressions in the sand just above the high-tide line. The birds are here from March to September and then return to coasts from Texas to North Carolina, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The bird's numbers have steadily risen on Long Island in recent years. A sharp-eyed observer might see the plover at many beaches: Robert Moses State Park (Democrat Point is a favorite), Orient Beach State Park and others. Weighing an ounce or two, the piping plover looks a bit like a low-slung sandpiper. Its feathers are sand-colored, its legs yellow, and it usually has a dark band where its neck meets its body. A plover usually lays four eggs in its beach nest, which it lines with pebbles or fragments of shells. Research indicates some birds return to the same nesting beaches each year, and with the same mate, says the DEC. - JOE HABERSTROH