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The Snowy Plover ChroniclesEvery year, a new spring arrives. At Pajaro, volunteers spend several months helping a little creature – the Western Snowy Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus. The Snowy Plover, weighing between 1 to 2 ounces, is on the Federal Endangered Species List primarily because it has lost vast areas of its habitat due to human intrusion. Volunteers all along the West Coast participate in a program to assist the Snowy Plover in surviving and regaining its population. Over the next few months, the Friends of Pajaro Dunes will maintain a weekly log of activities and progress of the Snowy Plover on beaches at and around the Last Mile. |
Log Entry, June 2
There is little time off for the Snowy Plover volunteers of Pajaro Dunes. Here's a quick roundup of a few days during nesting season.
Wed, May 19. Zmudowski Beach -- Zb006 hatched today and two chicks were banded. Found a new nest, zb013, with one egg. On Wednesday, went back and banded two new hatchlings from zb009.
Friday, May 21. Pajaro Spit. Found two new nests, ps021 and ps022 each with one egg. If these nests are healthy, then the full clutch of three eggs should be there by the next visit. Typically, the volunteers don't venture on the beach on Saturday to avoid visitors crossing the fence to investigate.
Sunday, May 23, back at Zmud. Saw males from zb006 and zb009 acting "broody", a slang term for the behavior when a male in tending is brood. Zb010 has recently hatched but no chicks are near the nest. After some searching, they are found them about 500 feet away.
Monday, May 24, at Pajaro Spit. Saw one chick near ps008. Discovered that ps010 has hatched and two chicks were banded. The third chick was found on the next visit and banded by Ryan DiGaudio from PRBO.
Tuesday, May 25 at Zmud. A new nest, ps024, is found with one egg.
Wednesday, May 26. The eggs of zb012 are taken by a raven. More on ravens later.
Thursday at Pajaro Spit. ps016 hatched with two chicks. One chick was found and banded but the volunteers can't find the second chick. One egg didn't hatch. Found two new nests: ps025 with 3 eggs and ps026 with one.
Friday back at Pajaro Spit. Found a new nest ps017 with one egg.
Saturday, May 29, Pajaro Spit. ps015, whose eggs had been buried in a wind storm on May 10th, is determined to be not viable as the scrape has been deserted. ps023 is lost to the wind.
Sunday, May 30 back at Pajaro Spit. The male from ps007 is acting broody. Lynne Stenzel, a biologist with PRBO is visiting. She's trying to locate the family from ps001 that should have fledged by now. She gives up after a long search.
Memorial Day back at Pajaro Spit. Success! The male from ps001 is found with two newly fledged chicks. The first of the year for the Snowy Plovers of the Last Mile! Back to work, though. A new nest with 3 eggs is found, ps028 -- the 28th nest at Pajaro Spit this year.
Tuesday, June 1. Two new nests found, each with one egg: ps029 and ps030. Unfortunately, ps019 is deemed lost, possibly due to wind.
June 2 back at Pajaro Spit. ps017 has hatched but the volunteers arrived too late to find the chicks to band them. Maybe tomorrow.
Activity continues at a fevered pitch as the volunteers watch for new hatchlings, look for new nests, and monitor the progress of the nests. So far this year, we have 24 new chicks of which 2 have fledged (capable of flying).
Previous Log Entries
- May 13 - Adult tactics to distract predators from nests and chicks
- May 10 - The first hatching, and how chicks are banded for identification
- April 28 - Compare a Snowy Plover with Sanderlings
- April 21 - Meet Ricky and John Warriner, Pajaro Dunes' resident Plover volunteers
- April 14 - Learn about a Plover's Nest called a Scrape