Plover – Snowy

Charadrius nivosus

The Snowy Plover’s story in Southern California is a troubled one for the Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus). The places it depends upon for breeding are sought after for human recreation and luxury living. Hence, the bird is endangered, and even with our help, it struggles to survive.

It isn’t just the west coast populations that are in trouble. The Gulf coast, the Mississippi and Florida populations face serious challenges if they are to survive.

Modern science recognizes two subspecies of Snowy Plover:

C. n. nivosus breeds along the Pacific Coast from Washington south to Baja California. Also across Great Basin from Montana south to California and central Colorado. Their range includes parts of the desert Southwest, and the Great Plains (Saskatchewan south to Texas). Some southern populations are resident. Others spend winters around the Gulf of California, the Pacific coast of Mexico, and the Gulf of Mexico.
C. n. occidentalis lives along the western coast of South America from central Ecuador to central Chile.

I find these and other small plovers charming. In this I know I’m not alone. They are committed to a life on the ground. If you visit a sandy shore and remain still long enough, you might get lucky and be treated to an encounter with one or more of these small shy shorebirds. Please keep in mind the struggles they face, and remember to temper your urge to dominate these spaces. If we insist on our desire for recreation, and forget that these birds’ survival depends on these rare places, we might lose their company forever.

Most of my meetings with Snowy Plovers have come at South San Diego Bay. There, I have accompanied biologists on their rounds monitoring these endearing birds. But I have also enjoyed some meetings at the Salton Sea in Imperial County (California). I looked for them on the shores of the Texas Gulf Coast. And while I was pleased to meet the similar-looking Piping Plovers there, I didn’t see any Snowy Plovers that I could positively identify.

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