Piping Plover Sheltered

I've promised a Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), and here it is.

For the second successive morning I was at Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary on the coast in southeastern Massachusetts. The weather was frigid both days (in the 30's Fahrenheit early), with strong westerly winds. Plovers breed here, monitored by Mass Audubon(since they're endangered); there are already three nests (not easily visible, simply in the sand or among rocks).

I saw at least a dozen plovers, all sheltered from the constant wind (blowing from the left), as is this female (distinguished in part by the blurred border between orange and black on the bill). She stands on one leg, as virtually all birds seem to do with great ease. She's small--ca. 7 inches or 18 cm.