Pacific Western Snowy Plover - Edmund Slevin

The Pacific Western Snowy Plover

By: Edmund Slevin

Introducing the Pacific Western Snowy Plover

The Snowy Plover is a small coastal bird that is 16.5 cm tall on average. Typically, Western Snowy Plovers weigh about 34 to 58 grams. It has a round head and short neck with a long, pointed black beak. The Plover has white plumage on its underside and grey-brown on the top part of its body. The Snowy Plover also has black highlights and medium sized legs relative to its body. The average lifespan of the Snowy Plover is 3 years, however there has been an instance of an individual Snowy Plover growing to 15 years old. The Western Snowy Plover typically nests and breeds above the high tide line on beaches in sand dunes, sand spits and on sparsely vegetated sand dunes.

Where They Are Found

The Western Snowy Plover mainly lives on West Coast beaches from the Central Coast of Washington State down to the horn of Baja-California. The plover also has interior (non-coastal) populations in “Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and north-central Texas, as well as coastal areas of extreme southern Texas, and possibly extreme northeastern Mexico” (Recovery Plan,5). The two populations, coastal and interior, typically do not interbreed with each other.

Population

Usually, 1-315 adults will settle in a suitable breeding location depending on area of land. In 2006, it was estimated that 70 Plovers were found in Washington State statewide, 179 found in Oregon statewide, somewhere between 1000-2000 statewide in California and 1,344 found in Baja California, Mexico. The Snowy Plovers largest breeding grounds are from San Francisco Bay to Southern Baja California. The Plovers are declining rapidly in certain areas but remaining stable in others however, future populations are expected to decrease rapidly due to habitat loss and degradation. Populations are naturally slow growing due to infrequent breeding with small broods. Typically, the plovers lay three eggs twice a year. Breeding requires long portions of time. Before breeding can begin, a nest must be constructed in a display of courtship. After this the process of mating can take anywhere between 3 days to a month and a half. Once the plovers have mated, the gestation period is 4-5 days followed by 26 to 31 days of incubation before hatching. The Plover does, usually, successfully hatches two broods annually with the help of both the male and female. The fledgling success rate average is only 37.5%.

Listings

Threatened; USFWS listing under Endangered Species Act, March 5,1993

Near Threatened; IUNC listing under IUNC Red List, (most recent) 2014 and 2016

Threats to the Plover

Although the geographic location of the Snowy plover causes different variations of threats, the primary threat to the species faces is the destruction of their coastal habitat. Oceanside housing and development in grassy sand habitats. These developments have caused habitat destruction in some regions and habitat degradation in others. The loss of habitat decreases nesting grounds and reproduction which has led to a negative population growth. This species also is affected by individuals that disrupt their habitats indirectly through recreation and removal of dune vegetation that stabilizes the sand. Introduced beach grass has also become an issue for the Snowy Plover because it is unable to nest around certain grasses. Expansion of predator populations is another growing threat as well. Predators of the Plover include foxes, coyotes, crows, owls, various other bird species, skunks, raccoons, and cats; the majority of the species drastically affecting the Pacific Snowy Plover are non-native. Disease is beginning to affect the Plover populations as well. Avian Botulism is a disease that the Plovers are susceptible to and it is thought that an outbreak could occur in certain populations. West Nile Virus, which has killed many bird species, is also a growing threat to the plovers in affected areas. The decline in population has warranted threatened status for the species and conservationists are worried the species could be susceptible to a drastic decline at any time.

Recovery Plan

Since listed as a threatened species, more conservation action has been put into place. Many areas that act as habitats for Snowy Plover populations have been protected in efforts to halt detrimental habitat loss. Man made habitats have been formed in order to increase the number of mating pairs in certain areas. Enclosures around nesting sites have also been constructed in order to reduce accessibility for predators. Motor vehicle use in and near Plover habitats has been prohibited and other recreational activity has been limited in many areas. Public exposure and education for the issue in coastal communities has also decreased the amount of human disruption. Conservationists have been monitoring nesting grounds and predators. Staying up to date on threats to the Snowy Plover is also very important for this species because of its numerous different risks to population size.

What can you do

The best way to personally benefit the Snowy Plover is to avoid recreational activities in beach grass areas where the Snowy Plover nests. Slight disruption to their nesting grounds can make it difficult for successful breeding. This should especially be taken into consideration when visiting a beach that is known for having Snowy Plovers. If you are a resident of a beach community or live near a beach community, attempt to vote against developments taking place near the beachfront as this is a common place for nesting Plovers. Keep dogs under control or on leash while at the beach because dogs have been known to disrupt and sometimes even kill the Snowy Plover.

Other resources

Fish and Wildlife Services: Western Snowy Plover full Recovery Plan

https://www.fws.gov/arcata/es/birds/WSP/documents/RecoveryPlanWebRelease_09242007/WS

P_Final_RP_10-1-07.pdf

IUCN Red List: Western Snowy Plover- overview of why Snowy Plovers are on the Red List

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22725033/0

All About Birds: Western Snowy Plover- statistics and overview of Snowy Plover

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Plover/overview

Wikipedia: Western Snowy Plover

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_plover

Piper: Short Movie by Pixar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VS7wR7gjJE

Citations:

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Charadrius nivosus

BirdLife International. 2017. Charadrius nivosus (amended version of 2016 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22725033A119724388. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22725033A119724388.en. Downloaded on 05 March 2018.

All About Birds: Snowy Plover

“Snowy Plover Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.” Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2017, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Plover/overview. Downloaded on 05 March 2018.

Recovery Plan for the Pacific Coast Population of the Western Snowy Plover

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2007. Recovery Plan for the Pacific Coast Population of the Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus). In 2 volumes. Sacramento, California. https://www.fws.gov/arcata/es/birds/WSP/documents/RecoveryPlanWebRelease_09242007/WSP_Final_RP_10-1-07.pdf. Downloaded on 05 March 2018.