Western Snowy Plover
The Plight of the Plover…
The Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) was once common along the west coast of the US from Washington to Baja. As human population increased over the past century, shoreline development and recreational uses have contributed to habitat destruction and degradation, resulting in dramatic population declines of this small shorebird. Reaching critically low numbers, the pacific coast population of the Western Snowy Plover was listed as threatened in 1993 under the Federal Endangered Species Act.
Life & Lifestyle…
Western Snowy Plovers live on flat, sandy beaches and sand dune areas that offer ample food sources and provide safe roosting opportunities. Their diet consists of small invertebrates that can be picked from the surface of the sand, from low growing vegetation, and from surf-cast marine debris such as kelp. When not feeding, snowy plovers roost in small depressions in the sand or on the leeward side of objects such as driftwood, kelp, or dune vegetation.
Some Western Snowy Plovers remain in their breeding areas year-round while others disburse up and down the coast to spend the non-breeding season at other locations. These wintering areas, are where they rest and feed. Here Western Snowy Plovers can live for up to nine months of the year, building up the fat reserves they will need to migrate and to endure the breeding season.
Western Snowy Plovers are gregarious, foraging and roosting in loose flocks, and often associating with other species of small shorebirds.
Snowy Plovers in San Francisco…
Before the Gold Rush, a vast wilderness of coastal dunes extended from the Pacific Ocean eastward over much of the San Francisco peninsula. As the City grew westward, this coastal dune ecosystem was consumed by development and much of the remaining wildlife habitats of today are limited to the immediate coastal areas, where a glimmer of wilderness still exists.
Though they currently do not breed in San Francisco, Western Snowy Plovers can still be found in this sliver of wilderness, at Ocean Beach and at Crissy Field, where they reside during most of the year. Both of these locations are now under Federal jurisdiction managed by the National Park Service.
See some of the issues currently faced by the Western Snowy Plover at Ocean Beach on this KRON Television story by Stanley Robertson
GET INVOLVED! Golden Gate Audubon works with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area on Western Snowy Plover monitoring and annual beach cleanup events. For more ongoing regional events, volunteers can help the plovers by removing plants that are not suitable habitat for native wildlife, and put in plants in which the plover can hide. A group works at the Linda Mar State Beach off HWY 1 in Pacifica on the fourth Sunday of every month. Meet at the Pacifica Community Center at 10 a.m. For more information, please contact Bill Collins at 94116bc@gmail.com.