Western Snowy Plovers: One of the Tiniest Birds on Our Beaches
The first time you see a Western Snowy Plover, it's almost hard to believe it's a real bird. They're so small they seem to disappear into the sand until they suddenly dart across the shoreline on impossibly tiny legs. They've become one of my favorite birds to photograph and protect.
The Western Snowy Plover is a tiny shorebird that is native to the coastal areas of the western United States. These birds can be found in sandy habitats such as beaches, sand dunes, and estuary mud flats. They are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act due to habitat loss and predation.
Western Snowy Plovers are easy to recognize once you spot them. Their pale brown upperparts, bright white belly, and black patches on either side of the neck blend surprisingly well with the sand. During breeding season, males develop a darker cap while females usually keep a softer brown one. Have you seen a bird that is cuter than this?
Life on the Beach
The adults hang out on our local beaches over the winter, often in small groups. They tuck into human footprints and tire tracks, and sometimes, all that shows is a little head poking out of the sand! They disperse into pairs as breeding season ramps up and can become quite territorial. They run around in quick bursts, with pauses in between, while looking for food. They eat small invertebrates, mostly insects and small crustaceans on the sand. The plovers use their beaks to probe the sand and pick out their meals.
Volunteering with California State Parks
I volunteer with California State Parks to help protect these little birds. Some of the efforts to protect these birds include monitoring winter populations, surveying the summer beach for adults with nests, eggs, and chicks, fencing or roping off active nesting areas, and educating people at the beach about the birds.
Plovers make shallow scrapes for a nest, decorate it with little shells, and then lay their eggs in it. The eggs are spotty and patterned, quite pretty, and super camouflaged on the beach! Permitted biologists often install a “cage” called an ME (mini-exclosure) around the nest. This keeps some predators away from the eggs, like gulls and crows. The holes are big enough for the adults to go in and out, and for the chicks to get out as soon as they hatch.
If you ever happen to come across little sandy-colored eggs on a beach, you’ll probably see an adult nearby making a bit of a scene. They perform a "broken wing display" to lure predators away from the nest: "Come get me. I'm hurt. I'll be easy to catch!" These birds are mighty for their small size, and when they get a nest or chicks… they are fierce protectors!
Western Snowy Plover Chicks
The chicks are entirely too cute to handle at times. They slightly resemble a cotton ball running around on toothpicks, and it’s just too much. Mama Plover takes care of the nest until the chicks are hatched, then Papa Plover takes over care of the chicks. He will often settle down on the beach with his chicks tucked underneath, and that is honestly the cutest thing you’ll ever see on the beach.
Why Are Western Snowy Plovers Threatened?
Despite their tiny size, these birds are tough and have adapted to living on increasingly crowded beaches. Conservation efforts like habitat protection and predator control have helped to increase their population, providing hope for this remarkable species. But they are still a tiny species in trouble and need our help!
How You Can Help Protect Snowy Plovers
There are simple ways all of us can help protect Western Snowy Plovers:
protect their habitat
don’t crowd or chase them on the beach
consider choosing a different park if you're bringing your dog (even leashed dogs can cause adult plovers to leave nests because they're perceived as predators)
don’t fly drones at the beaches (they look like predators in the sky)
pick up as much trash as you can on the beaches (trash attracts predators to these small birds, and especially their tiny chicks)
Volunteering for these birds, and their neighbors, the California Least Terns, is truly my favorite thing to do. I look forward to my volunteer shifts every year while I’m waiting for the season to start. They nest and raise their chicks on some of California's busiest beaches during the height of summer, so they need all the help they can get. I’m always so happy to be able to spend time out there with them, and to take photos of their adorable behaviors!
