Snowy Plover 2024 season final stats
We have a new record! Thirty-one snowy plover chicks fledged this summer. Fledging means they survived at least 28 days as tiny fluff balls on the beach under the supervision of their dad, evading predators, until they matured enough to survive on their own.
Notable this season, two lucky chicks were rescued as eggs by wildlife biologists when their nest was threatened by high tides. With permission, they were taken to International Bird Rescue, raised, and successfully released onto Abbotts Lagoon Beach. You don’t want to miss the adorable photos of the eggs buckled into a seat belt, ready for their trip to Bird Rescue.
Another notable was the discovery of a nest on the Drakes Beach spit that hatched two chicks. This is the first nest found there since recording began in 2013.
Overall, we had 41 total nests this season
28 hatched
12 failed nests
1 collected nest (rescued eggs)
31 chicks fledged
Get all the statistics in wildlife biologist, Matt Lau’s final post on the snowy plover season.
Thanks to all the biologists, docents, and thoughtful visitors for helping snowy plovers thrive in Point Reyes!
Photo credits:
Left: A male snowy plover banded aqua over silver on the left leg and pink over violet on the right leg (as:pv) watches over his three chicks while perched up on a piece of driftwood at Limantour Beach.
Photo credit: Parker Kaye / PRNSA
Middle: Three banded snowy plover chicks nest next to a piece of driftwood and Tidestrom's lupine (Lupinus tidestromii) in the Abbotts Lagoon restoration area. Our team also banded the male of this nest who quickly returned to tend to his chicks after being banded.
Photo credit: Parker Kaye / PRNSA
Right: A snowy plover chick banded red over violet on the left leg and violet over violet on the right leg (rv:vv) at Limantour Beach. This bird is one of three chicks hatched from the nest of male as:pv and female white over brown on the left leg, orange over blue on the right (wn:ob).
Photo credit: Aiko Goldston / PRNSA