Snowy Plover 2024 season final stats

We have a new record! Thirty-one snowy plover chicks fledged this summer. Fledging means they survived at least 28 days as tiny fluff balls on the beach under the supervision of their dad, evading predators, until they matured enough to survive on their own.

Notable this season, two lucky chicks were rescued as eggs by wildlife biologists when their nest was threatened by high tides. With permission, they were taken to International Bird Rescue, raised, and successfully released onto Abbotts Lagoon Beach. You don’t want to miss the adorable photos of the eggs buckled into a seat belt, ready for their trip to Bird Rescue.

Another notable was the discovery of a nest on the Drakes Beach spit that hatched two chicks. This is the first nest found there since recording began in 2013.

Overall, we had 41 total nests this season

  • 28 hatched

  • 12 failed nests

  • 1 collected nest (rescued eggs)

  • 31 chicks fledged

Get all the statistics in wildlife biologist, Matt Lau’s final post on the snowy plover season.

Thanks to all the biologists, docents, and thoughtful visitors for helping snowy plovers thrive in Point Reyes!

Photo credits:

Left: The last snowy plover nest of the breeding season, Abbotts Lagoon restoration area. Photo credit: NPS Photo / Dave Press

Middle: Newly banded western snowy plover chicks at Kehoe Beach rest inside a canvas container, waiting to be released. Photo credit: NPS Photo / Matt Lau

Right: Newly banded western snowy plover chicks in the Abbotts Lagoon restoration area. Photo credit: © Carleton Eyster, Point Blue Conservation Science

lena zentallSnowy Plover Docent