Overview
Hello Ploverites!
We are now at 27 fledges and two away from breaking our record number of fledges from a snowy plover nesting season! Our last record was from the 2022 nesting season, where we confirmed 28 fledges. We will add two additional fledges this season, once the two chicks being raised at International Bird Rescue are healthy enough to be released. Additionally, we have one remaining brood with at least one chick near Abbotts Lagoon that is estimated to fledge on September 5. We could potentially make it to 30 or 31 confirmed fledglings for this season if all goes well.
As the nesting season nears its end, biologists are switching over from monitoring to season wrap up, which includes taking down symbolic fencing, extracting nest exclosures from the field for winter storage, summarizing season data, and report writing. Here are some preliminary statistics from this nesting season:
- NPS wildlife biologist Matt Lau, Point Blue Conservation Science biologists Carleton Eyster and Ryan DiGaudio, and PRNSA Wildlife Technician Aiko Goldston, along with a team of plover monitoring volunteers, have conducted over 250 nesting surveys on park beaches.
- A preliminary estimate of 50 adult plovers have bred in the park, a 4% increase compared to 2023 (i.e., an increase of two birds).
- Nest exclosures were placed around 37 of the 41 total nests found in the park.
- There were a total of 110 eggs in the 41 nests, of which 79 successfully hatched (71.82%).
- As of 8/30/24, the fledge rate is 27 out of 79 chicks or 34.2%.
More data summaries to come as we continue analyzing all the data we’ve collected this season!
Winter flocks of snowy plovers continue to grow and can be found at the Abbotts Lagoon mouth, south Kehoe Beach, Limantour Spit, and North Beach. There were at least 60 plovers observed in the Abbotts Lagoon flock. Typically, winter flock numbers peak sometime in December or January, before birds begin dispersing for nesting areas in February and March.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Matt Lau via email.
Productivity Stats
- 41 total nests this season
- 0 active nests
- 28 hatched
- 12 failed nests
- 1 collected nest
- 1–2 chicks on PRNS beaches (Abbotts Lagoon area)
- 27 chicks fledged
A recently fledged snowy plover, banded va:ag (violet aqua left leg, aqua green right leg), at North Beach. Note the complete lack of black markings on the face and neck, and the "scaled" look to the backside feathers.
Photo credit: Carleton Eyster / © Point Blue Conservation Science
Two recently fledged chicks huddled together on Kehoe Beach. They were with a small winter flock of adults, including their unbanded father.
Photo credit: NPS Photo / Aiko Goldston
Point Blue Conservation Science biologist Carleton Eyster banding one of two 2.5-week-old chicks being raised at International Bird Rescue. Can you tell its color band combination? There’s a hint in the photo!
Photo credit: Carleton Eyster / © Point Blue Conservation Science
Recently fledged juvenile, as(v):vg (aqua silver left leg, violet green right leg; violet tape fell off the silver metal band), from North Beach.
Photo credit: Ryan DiGaudio / © Point Blue Conservation Science
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