Snowy Plover Update - August 26, 2019

August 30, 2019 Posted by: Matt Lau

Overview

Hello again Plover Lovers! We are nearing the end of the season with five plover hatchlings still roaming the beach: four on Kehoe Beach and one on Limantour Beach. Two of these chicks on Kehoe Beach are due to fledge during the Labor Day weekend, increasing our total number of fledged chicks to fifteen, surpassing the total during the 2018 breeding season! The last of these chicks will fledge on September 11, marking the end of the breeding season.

It has been an incredible breeding season with many highs and lows. During the first half of the season, we had record high nest loss due to common ravens, but reproductive success picked up during the latter half of the season, particularly on Kehoe Beach. We observed the first evidence of breeding on Lighthouse or South Beach since the 1980s and witnessed increased breeding activity on the section of beach between North and South Beach parking lots.

The success this season was not possible without our intrepid plover docents and our partnership with Point Blue Conservation Science biologists. The plovers and the park appreciate all of their time and effort!

Here are updates organized by beach sites:

Kehoe (K)

The last nest that was found this season was abandoned by the adults, who have now joined the nearby winter flock. Four chicks remain on this beach: one brood will fledge during the Labor Day weekend and the other brood will fledge later in the week.

Abbotts Lagoon Restoration Area (RA)

No plovers have been observed in this large native dune habitat in months, likely due to heavy nest loss earlier in the season and in past seasons. With proper predator management, we hope that plovers will return to this site to breed next season.

Abbotts Lagoon to North Beach parking lot (NP)

No nests remain on this site, but there is a small winter flock often seen about ¼ mile north of North Beach parking lot.

North Beach (NB)

We have not observed any nesting activity or adult birds on this site in the past few weeks, but we will continue to survey for winter flocks.

Limantour (L)

There is one brood consisting of a single hatchling on the spit. A large winter flock persists in the same area, number over sixty plovers now!

South Beach (SB)

No breeding activity or adult birds have been observed on this site in the past few weeks.

If you have any questions, please feel free to let Matt Lau, the park's Snowy Plover Ecologist, know via email. Thank you so much, again, for all your help!

Current Stats

  • 35 nests so far this season
    • 0 active nest
    • 13 hatched
    • 22 failed nests
  • 5 chicks on the beach
  • 13–15 chicks fledged
A small brown-backed, white-breasted shorebird and smaller black-speckled chick stand on a sandy beach.

A week old Limantour snowy plover chick, pictured to the left of the adult male, sits still as gulls fly by overhead.


The National Park Service shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. These data and related graphics (if available) are not legal documents and are not intended to be used as such. The information contained in these data is dynamic and may change over time. The National Park Service gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of these data. For more information: https://www.nps.gov/disclaimer.htm

Point Reyes, Point Reyes National Seashore, bird, birds, plover, plovers, snowy plover, snowy plovers, western snowy plover, western snowy plovers, Charadrius nivosus, Charadrius nivosus nivosus



Last updated: August 31, 2019

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