Western Snowy Plover- Mwinyi Faida El-Kindiy

Western Snowy Plover

Charadrius nivosus nivosus

Whenever i would go the beaches in California I would always see these little white and brown birds that would be running around in the coastal tide. I later found out that this was actually a threatened bird known as the Snowy Plover. These organisms can be found ranging from Washington all the way down to baja California. They can be identified as being “a small shorebird, about 6 inches long, with a thin dark bill, pale brown to gray upper parts, white or buff colored belly, and darker patches on its shoulders and head, white forehead and supercilium (eyebrow line). Snowy plovers also have black patches above their white forehead and behind the eye (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2016)”. On March 5, 1993 the Pacific coast population of the western snowy plover was listed as threatened, with the recovery priority “3C, per criteria published by Federal Register Notice (FWS 2016).”with an expected cost of recovery of “149,946,000 (FWS 2016)”

Some of the key findings in reports that I have read say that “The percent of nests that survived from egg laying through hatching during the 2013 nesting season was approximately 50% (includes exclosed and non-exclosed nests) which is extremely unusual.  The nest success at Leadbetter Point (the site with the lowest nest success in past years) was extraordinarily high, with 79% nest success.  This was the first year that predator management was implemented in Washington and it was only implemented at Leadbetter Point (WDFW 2016)”. Aslo that “Adult population counts were declining precipitously through 2012 but with a higher average count in 2013, the decline is no longer significant at the p = 0.05 level, but is still significant at the p = 0.10 level (WDFW 2016)”.

Breeding adult Snowy Plover population trend (95% CI) of average yearly counts for all Washington sites (2006 - 2013).

Sand dunes are are a unique environment to live in, because they are constantly changing. The harsh nature of these environments call for organisms that have specialized to this type of environment. Exterior factors and influences will definitely make it harder for an organism to thrive in an already harsh environment. Since coastal sand dunes are found on in close proximity to the ocean. Developers will want to acquire the land and turn it into some type of development that will make them money, such as housing, restaurants, or retail. Habitat destruction is one of the leading factors to the current status of the Snowy Plover. In addition, jogging, pets, poor reproductive success, weather, and predation lead to the decline in the Snowy Plover's population.

The Snowy Plover recovery plan primarily focuses on the number of breeding adults that will be found in throughout their range.  For it to be successful they want to see the population maintain itself for ten years. In addition, the recovery plans call for the long term protection of the Snowy Plover's habitat. This can be achieved through implementation of signage and barriers that restrict human activity through their habitat. FWS states that delisting could occur by 2047 if the recovery criteria has been met.

Currently I am designing a hotel resort in Morro Bay for my Upper division landscape architecture studio. The site is located on at the old water treatment plant. Adjacent to the site is the sand dunes. We had a park ranger come in and talk to the class about dune restoration practices and what the techniques need to be implemented. This includes such things as, removing invasive species, and stabilizing the dunes. Invasive species are one of the threats to the Snowy Plover habitat. I believe that through design we are going to be able to help the Snowy Plover’s get their population up. I will help to implement designs that will restrict human activity, help to remove invasive species, and reintroduce native species that will have a beneficial impact on Snowy Plover population.

Work Cited

Service, U. F. (n.d.). Western Snowy Plover Species Profile. Retrieved November 23, 2016, from https://www.fws.gov/arcata/es/birds/wsp/plover.html

Shorebird Ecology: Snowy Plover Ecology | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2016, from http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/research/projects/shorebird/snowy_plover/

For more information please visit

• http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/research/projects/shorebird/snowy_plover/
• https://www.fws.gov/arcata/es/birds/WSP/documents/2015_Eberhart-Phillips_et_al.(BCI).pdf

Pictures obtained from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_plover#/media/File:Snowy_Plover_srgb.jpg

https://www.fws.gov/arcata/es/birds/WSP/documents/RecoveryPlanWebRelease_09242007/WSP_Final_RP_10-1-07.pdf

http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/research/projects/shorebird/snowy_plover/