Snowy Plover

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The Snowy Plover, a small Charadrius species, has long been considered to have a world wide distribution, although recent genetic testing suggests the possibility of slight continental differences among some species.

Not debated is the fact that two distinct Snowy Plover species, The Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) and the Cuban snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus tenuirostris) live and breed in the United States.

Additionally, two distinct (inland and coastal) Western Snowy Plover populations have been identified.

Inland Western Snowy Plover species breed along the beds of large lakes while coastal populations breed on open beach areas along the entire Pacific Coast, with neither population inclined to inter-territorial breeding behavior.

In 1993 the Pacific coast population was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, with loss of open beach nesting areas due to both human encroachment and the introduction of beachgrass in their habitat, serving as the impetus for their population decline.

Since that time, a recovery plan has been put in place providing guidelines and goals to promote state and local breeding programs.

While still threatened, small population increases continue to be recorded. The vast majority of the coastal plover population (estimated at approximately 2,600 birds, and up from less than 1,500 individuals), breed along the coast of California. Further north, recent statistics from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife suggest their coastal populations have increased from 50 to the 200 range between 1990 and 2009.

© 2009 Patricia A. Michaels