Photo: Alan Harper.
Snowy inPlover
San Quintin
By: Daniel Galindo
T
he Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus) is a
small shorebird that belongs to the family
Charadriidae (Plovers), and is protected both
in Mexico and in the USA, for it is considered a
threatened species.
Snowy Plover populations are declining in North
America and it is estimated that only about 26,000 individuals remain. The main causes of its decline are related to habitat loss, the increasing number of natural and
introduced predators, and human disturbances such as
unleashed dogs, all-terrain vehicles, kite flying, and litter,
which attracts ravens, coyotes and gulls to the plover’s
nesting sites.
It is estimated that around 2,600 Snowy Plovers nest in
Mexico. Of this number, up to 380 individuals are found in
San Quintin Bay, mainly in Laguna Figueroa, Punta Azufre, San Ramón Beach and Punta Mazo Nature Reserve.
During winter, more than 500 Snowy Plovers from
American populations arrive to the sandy beaches and
salt marshes of San Quintín. The main problems they
face are: crows and coyotes that prey on their eggs,
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APRIL 2016
chicks being run over by cars on the beach, and continuous human disturbance of their resting and feeding
areas. We know the origin of some of these Plovers that
overwinter in San Quintín because they are marked;
they have a unique pattern of rings of different colors
that were placed on their feet in areas where they have
nested or where they were hatched.
In the last three years, a lot of Snowy Plovers have
come to visit us, mainly from central California, the
Great Salt Lake in Utah, and as far away as Oregon.
The Snowy Plovers of San Quintín are also marked,
this is how we know that some of them have decided
to change their residence and now breed in the USA.
Others migrate about 400 km south into Baja California
for the winter, and then return in the summer to continue breeding in San ]Z[