Overview
Hello Ploverites!
Six snowy plover nests have hatched since our last breeding season update, but the trend of low chick survival continues and only three of the broods have survived as of today. On a brighter note, the male of a North Beach brood secretly kept a chick hidden from us for an entire month (i.e., we thought he only had a single chick with him the entire time) and managed to fledge two out of three chicks this week! Thus far, we have confirmed 13 total fledges this season, compared to the total of 28 from the 2022 breeding season.
Two active broods can be found along North Beach (between Abbotts Lagoon and North Beach parking lot) and one on Limantour Spit. Three active nests remain—two near Abbotts Lagoon and one on Limantour Spit—all projected to hatch next mid-week. This means we'll be monitoring broods going into September! If all things go well, and a majority of these chicks survive, we can pull through and end the season strong!
The Royals Update
We spoke too soon on the Royal pair of Limantour! We previously mentioned that we had not observed the Queen (av:bg) recently, and sure enough, she was incubating a nest hidden away on the Estero of Limantour Spit! It's unclear why they abandoned the one egg nest we found a few weeks ago, but their new nest is only two eggs, leading us to believe they promptly started this new nest after abandoning the one egg of the old nest. The rest of the Royal family (i.e., the offspring of the King and Queen: va:aa female and va:ba male) have wrapped up their seasons and have joined the nearby winter flocks.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Matt Lau via email.
CURRENT STATS:
- 50 total nests this season
- 3 active nest
- 27 hatched
- 20 failed nests
- 6–8 chicks on PRNS beaches
- 13 chicks fledged!
A hidden snowy plover chick, still with an egg tooth (the white speck on the tip of the bill used to help them break out of the egg) near Abbotts Lagoon. August 6, 2023.
Photo credit: NPS/Matt Lau
A newly banded snowy plover chick from Limantour Spit. August 2023.
Photo credit: NPS/Matt Lau
Three snowy plover chicks from one of the last nests near Abbotts Lagoon. August 6, 2023.
Photo credit: NPS/Matt Lau
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