Snowy Plover Update - July 31, 2023

July 31, 2023 Posted by: Matt Lau

Overview

Hello Ploverites!

We are likely in the last stretch of the snowy plover nesting season: nine active nests remain, with a couple of them due to hatch in the next several days and another three projected to hatch at the end of next week. There may be two breeding pairs that may have new nests that we are still looking for; otherwise, all of our breeding plovers have either joined up with the winter flocks or have emigrated to other sites along the coast.

The Royals Update

The Limantour Royals might have wrapped up their breeding season: the nest we found for them ended up being an egg dump (a single egg is laid in a well-defined nest cup but is abandoned due to environmental reasons or disturbance from humans/predators). Biologists have been monitoring them and we have not relocated the Queen in the past week, which might indicate that she's incubating a nest that we haven't found yet! We'll see what we find this week. One known active nest (owned by the King/Queen’s progeny, va:aa female) remains on Limantour Spit, which is due to hatch in approximately two weeks.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Matt Lau via email.

CURRENT STATS:

  • 49 total nests this season
    • 9 active nest
    • 22 hatched
    • 18 failed nests
  • 4–5 chicks on PRNS beaches
  • 8 chicks fledged!

A photo of an NPS employee and another person standing on a beach while looking through binoculars.Snowy Plover Biologist Matt Lau showing a Point Blue Conservation Science partner a nest on Limantour Spit. July 2023.
Photo credit: © Martin Magana, Point Blue Conservation Science

A photo of a small grayish-brown shorebird with colored bands around its legs standing on a sandy beach.A color-banded Limantour juvenile that fledged last month. July 2023.
Photo credit: NPS/Matt Lau

A photo of three small black-speckled, beige-colored eggs lying on sand surrounded by small green plants and small bits of wood.A new snowy plover nest in the Abbotts Lagoon Restoration Area. July 2023.
Photo credit: NPS/Matt Lau

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

PointReyes, PointReyesNationalSeashore, bird, birds, plover, plovers, snowyplover, snowyplovers, westernsnowyplover, westernsnowyplovers, Charadriusnivosus, Charadriusnivosusnivosus



Last updated: August 11, 2023

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