Plover lovers rejoice: Oregon population reaches record despite challenges
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014
Photo: A bird in the hand is worth…You can’t put a price on these banded plover chicks who are making a comeback thanks to dedicated conservation partners. Photo credit: K. Castelein/USFWS
Whether you say plover with a long ‘o’ (rhymes with ‘over’) or plover with a short ‘o’ (rhymes with ‘lover’), you will certainly agree that success is the right word to use when describing the results of this year’s breeding window survey in Oregon. A record 243 Western snowy plovers were observed during the 2014 survey including a recovered pair found nesting in site that hasn’t seen plovers in more than ten years.
Photo: Bump on a log? Look closely and you can see the chick who, thanks to two tenacious parents, hatched from the Sutton nest, a success that hasn’t occurred since 2003. Credit: Adam Kotaich/ORBIC
Maggie Everett, whose dad Jeff is a biologist at our Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office, went along for the survey and gives a realistic account of the obstacles these threatened birds face:
Despite challenges presented by trash, dogs, and people, Maggie and our biologists remain optimistic about their future, especially with the new signs in place and no shortage of plover lovers in Oregon.
Photo: Maggie Everett reports from the field about plover habitat and shows off new signs designed to raise public awareness in fragile shorebird habitat.
Western snowy plovers are extremely cool. As are the people who help them.
Reposted from http://ift.tt/1tDQoIO.
