Threatened Snowy Plovers in Santa Barbara, California

Threatened Snowy Plovers.

in Santa Barbara, California

Western Snowy Plovers are tiny shorebirds with sand-colored feathers and white bellies. They are about 4-5 inches tall and could fit in the palm of your hand.

They feed on tiny bugs on the shoreline.

Presently, fewer than 2,000 breeding plovers remain in the Pacific coast population.

Their population is threatened according to the Endangered Species Act.

At the start of their life, newborn plovers are only the size of a human thumb. Young Snowy Plovers often leave their nest just three hours after hatching! To protect themselves from danger, they will often pancake themselves against the ground if a parent warns them of an approaching predator. Reference

Coal Oil Point Reserve in Santa Barbara, California, is a Critical Habitat for Western Snowy Plovers. In 2022, there were 102 nests, only 19 of them hatched, only 28%. How can we support the threatened Western Snowy Plover population?

One of the best ways to help a Snowy Plover is to help them conserve their energy. Energy is needed to build their nests, to take care of their young, and to find food. Running from humans, dogs, and other predators can take a lot of energy for a tiny 4 inch tall Plover, and it might not have enough left to do the things that it needs to do to survive. Reference

The Goal is to Share the Shore, but what does that mean? It means not bringing dogs into protected wildlife areas, it means watching where you are walking in protected wildlife areas, it means packing in and packing out, and it means being aware that we aren’t the only people on the beach, others call it home. You can also volunteer as a Western Snowy Plover Docent to help your local population. You can find more information about that here.