It was early morning on Cape Cod National Seashore. I was walking very cautiously along the beach with three shorebird biologists trained in avian behaviors. We were looking for signs of Piping Plovers, which are federally threatened shorebirds that nest all over Cape Cod. Each step that I took was considered, calculated, and executed. It was my ninth day at work as a Shorebird Conservation Intern, and already I felt like I knew what I was doing. However, it was early, and I felt my mind drifting. “Theresa, freeze! Do you see it?” Dennis, a supervisor, yelled out. Like a child playing a game, I froze without even a thought. My right foot was raised in the air, only inches above the ground.

“You’re pretty close to a scrape,” said Dennis, both chastising and understanding. I looked around, seeing nothing. After a few minutes of searching, I saw the small, sand-colored Piping Plover egg lying in a hidden nest in the ground, about five feet away. At that point, I realized how easy it would be for someone to step on a nearly invisible nest by accident. After all, Piping Plovers, shorebirds that are fighting extinction, have a hard enough time staying alive without me crushing their eggs.