The Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) is a sparrow-sized shorebird that breeds and winters on sandy beaches from Washington to Baja California, Mexico. The vast majority of its U.S. population is in California, with accounts for almost 90 percent of breeding birds. The central coast, from San Luis Obispo County through Ventura County, contains roughly 45 percent of the breeding birds, with large numbers in Morro Bay, Oceano, and Vandenberg Air Force Base. In a state that sees high summer use of its beaches (including the widespread use of beach-grooming trucks at some beaches to level the sand), the species is long gone as a breeder from many of its historical nesting sites, including much of southern California.

The Snowy Plover is widespread in fall and winter, and "off-season" beachgoers may spot birds foraging among kelp near the high-tide mark, or roosting together on sandbars around estuaries. In general appearance, it resembles the Sanderling, a sandpiper that runs back and forth following the waves. However, the Snowy Plover plucks food off from the ground, and usually doesn't stick its bill in the sand. Also, it has a distinctive "run-stop-run" behavior.

Research by PRBO Conservation Science, the organization leading research efforts on Snowy Plovers since the 1970s, revealed that this population declined about 17% between late 1970s and late 1980s because of habitat loss and lowered breeding success. In California by the late 1970s, plovers no longer nested at 60 percent of their historical breeding beaches (Gary Page, PRBO, 1995).

In 1993, the U.S. Pacific population was subsequently listed as federally threatened by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service when possibly 2,000 birds still bred along the coast. A recovery plan was completed in 2007 to address threats and set a recovery goal at 3,000 adults. The U.S. Pacific breeding population is currently estimated to be approximately 2,100 adults, based on the 2009 breeding season window survey. The population appears to have been fairly stationary for the past three years (Gary Page, PRBO).  In 2006, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service rejected a proposal to delist the Pacific Coast Population.

Each summer, breeding populations of Snowy Plovers are monitored by State Parks, Audubon chapters, PRBO Conservation Science, Department of Defense, and many others. Hundreds of volunteers, including many Audubon members, have assisted with nesting season data collection and community outreach and restoration. In California, protection efforts for breeding birds which have halted the decline documented in the 1980s can be attributed to habitat restoration, predator management, leash laws, symbolic fencing, and controlled off-road vehicle use. Despite some local success stories, plovers remain at risk from habitat loss, predation, and disturbance, and are still absent from many locations in their historic range.

Useful Links:

Western Snowy Plover Page

California Department of Fish and Game

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service