Coal Oil Point Reserve, after the storm, Snowy Plover count day - 01/23/2010
Snowy Plover Status showing the breeding information at Coal Oil Point/Sands beach from 2001 - 2009
From Cris Sandoval report on Snowy Plovers for May 5, 2011: As of today, there are 3 broods with 2 chicks each. In addition, there are 15 nests incubating. This is a great number of active breeding pairs for this time of the year.
Coal Oil Point Reserve - Sands Beach, July 2008
Snowy Plover Chicks, Terns, shorebirds
Hello SB birders,
The most recent count of plover chicks surveyed at Sand's Beach, Coal Oil Point Reserve, was this morning, July 28, 2008. There were 28 chicks on the beach area and 2 broods of 3 chicks each in the delta or interior part of the slough that has dried out. We were scared that with pressures from skunk depredation, the plovers didn't have a chance this year. As it turns out, this season hasn't been a total failure after all!
Thanks!
Jen Stroh
Snowy Plover Docent Program Coordinator
Snowy Plover in the incubater at COPR - about 4 hours old - June 7, 2008
Snowy Plover Nursery area at Coal Oil Point Reserve
Snowy Plover food - beach hoppers collected in different sizes to feed plovers at different ages
It's that time again!
Snowy Plover Chick in the COPR Nursery - May 24, 2008
This year there has been an especially difficult year with predators. The only surviving chicks at this date are the ones in the Nursery.
Coal Oil Point Reserve - February 2008, Devereux Slough open to the sea, Snowy Plovers, Semi-palmated Plovers
Coal Oil Point Reserve, Devereux Slough winter changes and reflections, Snowy Plovers - January 2008
Snowy Plovers at Coal Oil Point Reserver - December 8, 2007
Birds - Sands Beach - Coal Oil Point Reserver , Sept. 8 - Oct. 27, 2007
White-faced Ibis, banded Snowy Plovers and Terns, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Long-billed Curlew, birds in flight, Veneco - Ellwood Terminal, birders, Pectoral sandpipe
Snowy Plover counts have ranged between 170 and 250 so far this fall.
July 28, 2007 - Update from Cris
The end of the breeding season is doing very well. There are 10 broods with 26 chicks on the beach and 5 eggs in the incubator, due next week. We have learned an interesting thing about the wood egg replacement experiment. On the last nest at post 10, I brought back 2 chicks and 1 egg. The chicks were already walking because they hatched in the night instead of the typical morning time. When I placed the 2 chicks and egg in the nest, the parents would not go back, they were nervous about the chick. I then tried another nest to see if it was a problem with those particular parents or with the chicks being 12 hours old. When I placed on the other nest, the female accepted them but the male attached them. We know now that we have a narrow window of time to replace the eggs. Ideally it would be when I can hear the chicks pipping inside of the egg and when the chick is still wet from hatching. The 2 chicks that were rejected are being raised in our nursery by the dedicated chick team.
Beach Hoppers are part of Snowy Plovers' diet - gammarid amphipod of the genus Orchestoidea
Wooden Snowy Plover Replacement Eggs at Coal Oil Point Reserve - June 28, 2007
June 28, 2007
I went for a wonderful summer walk on the beach. While lookin at the plovers and other birds. I ran into Cris. She was checking up on the Snowy Plover nests where she had put wooden eggs. No solution to the skunks has been found so it was decided to replace the eggs with wooden eggs. The Snowy Plover eggs are taken up into the nursery and incubated. When the eggs are ready to hatch you can hear peeping. This well help with knowing when to bring the protected eggs back to their nests where they can hatch and be looked after by their parents.
Wonderful Summer day checking on the birds at Sands, COPR Dunes - June 22, 2007 - Snowy Plovers, Least Terns
June 21, 2007 - The skunk predation is a continuing problem with the nests and chicks at COPR. There are at least two Least Tern nests. Last count for the Snowy Plover Chicks was 11.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Snowy Plover page This site includes information regarding the official status, critcal habitat, recovery plan, threats, range, life history and conservation needs of Snowy Plovers along the pacific coast.
2006-2007 Range-wide Western Snowy Plover Winter Window Survey Final Results (pdf file)
Comparison of the 2006 and 2007 summer Snowy Plover surveys of the Pacific coast. (Excel file)
Hi all,
This is the nest update of 6/5/07
The big news: we have 2 least tern nests.
Plovers:
1) 7 plover chicks have fledged
2) Several broods hatched in the last week. My best count was on 5/30. On that day there were 8 broods of small chicks totalling 16 chicks.
3) Today there were 11 nests. It has been difficult to track chicks because the beach was narrow
and the chicks hide in the vegetated dunes. The beach finally
started to broaden on 5/30/07. I am hoping to move the fence closer
to the ocean next week. This will make it easier to count and
photograph chicks because they will have more flat sand to forage.
4) In the plover nursery, we raised and released 1 chick. Of the
other 10 eggs that we collected, 4 were infertile and 6 had dead
embryos. Is quite unusual to have low hatchability and we need to
find out why chicks are dying in the egg. It is possible that when
chicks are at a crucial time of hatching, they must be kept warm or
they die. Also, it is possible that the incubator is infected with
bacteria. My friend who works with show chickens said that I need
another type of incubator that can be disinfected regularly. I will look into that.
5) One of our last year's nursery chicks, banded as PA:AR wascourting a male by the docent chair.
Cris
Bird watching at Coal Oil Point and Goleta - May 12, 2007
The slideshow includes: Snowy Plover chicks, Sanderlings, Bullocks's Oriole, Western Grebe, Mark Holmgren, Deer, House Fench, Scrub Jay, Grasshopper Sparrow, Red-tailed Hawk, Phainopepla, Farren Road Area)
Coal Oil Point Reserve - April 28, 2007
Snowy Plover Chicks
Video of snowy plover chicks hatching at Coal Oil Point Reserve
Coal Oil Point Reserve Snowy Plover Program
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