The Snowy Plover Recovery Project works towards the recovery of the federally threatened Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) by surveying the salt ponds of the San Francisco Bay to locate breeding habitat. SFBBO biologists survey salt ponds and record the number of plovers using the ponds, their behaviors and determine nest success and fledging success. SFBBO also studies nest predators with remote cameras systems and has started a habitat enhancement project to provide better nesting habitat for Snowy Plovers. The project identifies additional actions to land managers in order to optimize nesting habitat on dry salt ponds and islands. Researching Snowy Plovers and their salt pond habitat is vital if we are to reach the USFWS Recovery Goal of supporting 500 breeding adult plovers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Project Partners:
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
East Bay Regional Parks District
Hayward Area Regional Shoreline
Project Funding:
California State Coastal Conservancy
USFWS Endangered Species Program
USFWS Coastal Program
The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory has been banding Western Snowy Plover chicks in the South San Francisco Bay salt ponds to track plover movements and survival in the salt ponds. The chicks received two bands on each leg, giving them their own individual four color combination. In 2008 we banded 83 chicks, and in 2009, we banded 113.
If you see any banded Snowy Plovers in the South Bay please let us know. Please record the location, date, and the four-color band combination and email your sightings to Caitlin Robinson-Nilsen, Waterbird Program Supervisor at cnilsen@sfbbo.org.
Snowy Plover Habitat Enhancement
Western Snowy Plovers nest on the dry former salt evaporation ponds in the South Bay, and many nests are lost each year to predators. By improving their breeding habitat on the South Bay Salt Pond, we’re hoping to reverse that trend. The main goals of this project were to remove many of the posts throughout the ponds that served as perches for predators, remove vegetation that was encroaching on nesting habitat and to spread oyster shells on the pond bottom in experimental plots. The soil on many of the salt ponds is very dark brown or red, which make light colored Snowy Plovers adults and nest stand out for predators. By adding other white objects to the pond bottom (the oyster shells), we hoped to camouflage plovers and their nests, as well as provide some cover for plover chicks to hide near. Drakes Bay Family Farm donated tons of oyster shells to the project.
This study yielded impressive results in the 2009 breeding season, increasing plover nest density and nesting success. We plan continuing this experimental study in the 2010 breeding season.
Special thank you to Drakes Bay Family Farm, The Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, The California Conservation Corps, California Department of Fish and Game, and all of the amazing SFBBO volunteers!
