Overview
Hello Ploverites!
Our most exciting news over the past week is that our team was able to confirm three new snowy plover fledges from two different nests this week! All three birds are the first wild fledges from a nest on the beach between the North Beach parking lot and Abbotts Lagoon (not counting our birds released from International Bird Rescue [IBR]) this season. One bird is banded and the other two are from a nest that we discovered at the brood stage and were unable to band due to the chicks being far too mobile for us to catch. At just a few days old, plover chicks can easily outmaneuver even the most determined biologists. The two fledglings were found with their father foraging along the high tide line and testing out their new ability of flight. Even though we do not know their exact hatch date, seeing the birds testing flight abilities while still with their father makes it possible for us to confidently determine fledging.
We still have at least six active broods on the stretch of beach between the North Beach parking lot and Abbotts Lagoon and one active brood out at Limantour Beach. All seem to be progressing nicely and growing right on schedule. Before we know, our birds will all grow up and be exploring the world! Yesterday we received some band reports from the snowy plover folks up in Washington and have confirmed that a Point Reyes bird that hatched in 2023 now breeds up there while still coming home to Abbotts for the winter season. It’s always exciting to see our birds dispersing and more importantly thriving in other places. Who knows what else this winter season may turn up!
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact Parker Kaye via email.
Productivity Stats
- 55 total nests this season
- 0 active nests
- 26 hatched
- 29 failed nests
- 19 maximum chicks on PRNS beaches
- 12 chicks fledged
- 2 PRNS juveniles released from IBR
Photos
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
A female snowy plover with red over violet bands on the left leg and white over yellow on the right leg (rv:wy) at Abbotts Lagoon. This bird hatched at PRNS in 2023 and continues to winter here, but now breeds in Washington over the summer at Midway Beach.
Photo credit: Parker Kaye / PRNSA
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