Overview
Hello Ploverites!
Four new snowy plover nests were found over the course of this past week, all along the stretch of beach between Abbotts Lagoon and the North Beach parking lot. One of the four was found Saturday afternoon during a training for volunteer monitors who will be helping our team survey sites for the rest of the season. This bird (banded blue over yellow on the left leg, green over red on the right [by:gr]) was very difficult to pin down; she was constantly running away from us in both directions on the beach and, even when we moved far away from her suspected nest area, she would not return to her eggs. It wasn't until after our training when I went back out to that area was I able to sneak up on her, finding a three-egg, three-week-old nest near the base of the dunes. Anytime we find a nest that has gone undetected for a long period of time, it's a great reminder how resilient and clever these birds are even without our efforts.
Another exciting part of our week was getting to go out and band a brood this past Monday with former NPS Biologist Matt Lau. Once a snowy plover biologist, always a snowy plover biologist! The nest we banded was our third nest to hatch from Kehoe Beach this year which is, at the moment, our area with the highest hatch rate in the park. There is a minimum of four chicks from Kehoe running around the beaches, with some having moved all the way over to Abbotts Lagoon, at least a mile away from where they hatched out. Regarding chicks, Limantour Beach still edges this site out, though, with all five known chicks still being found running along the beach. All five of these birds are three days away from their fledge date, so we will be out there on Monday hoping to confirm all of them as our first fledges for the season. Stay tuned!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Parker Kaye via email.
Productivity Stats
- 44 total nests this season
- 7 active nest
- 12 hatched
- 25 failed nests
- 14 chicks on the beach
- 0 chicks fledged
A snowy plover chick banded red over violet on the left leg and orange over blue on the right leg (rv:ob). The left leg combo (rv) is one of four left leg color combinations used to denote that this bird is from Point Reyes National Seashore. This year we are banding all chicks with combo rv on the left leg. This is one of two chicks banded at their nest at Kehoe Beach on June 16, 2025.
Photo credit: © Matt Lau
Former NPS biologist Matt Lau holding two recently banded snowy plover chicks with Point Blue Conservation Science biologist Carleton Eyster in the background at Kehoe Beach.
Photo credit: © Matt Lau
Three banded snowy plover chicks huddled together in a depression in the sand. Note the small white egg tooth present on the tip of all three chicks' bills. The egg tooth is used by chicks to help hatch out of their egg and falls off withing roughly 24 hours after hatching. These birds were banded at North Beach on June 14, 2025.
Photo credit: © Parker Kaye / PRNSA
PRNSA Biological Science Technician Parker Kaye banding a snowy plover chick on Kehoe Beach. The soldering iron is used to melt the opening of plastic color bands and affix colored tape to those bands.
Photo credit: © Matt Lau
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