Western Snowy Plover and Dockweiler SB
An historical roosting area for the threatened Western Snowy Plover at Dockweiler State Beach (SB) at Playa del Rey has been fenced off to protect the birds from people and vehicles. Disturbing the nesting birds is a violation of federal law. U.S. and L.A. County officials and the L.A. Audubon Society cooperated in fencing off the area north of Imperial Highway.
The Western Snowy Plover has been losing nesting habitat to beachgoers over several decades as hundreds and hundreds of miles of beach have been developed. Hopefully, folks on the beach will notice the orange mesh fence surrounding the enclosure on three sides, with one side open to the sea. Western snowy plovers themselves are VERY hard to see, since their natural camouflage resembles sand. Plovers nest in sand dunes by scratching an indentation in the sand, sometimes under a piece of debris, and lay their sand-colored eggs inside. The chicks look like “little cotton balls on sticks.” People and dogs can easily step on the eggs, and dogs can kill the chicks.
Plovers roost at Dockweiler, but when they get the urge to lay eggs, they leave for safer areas. In Los Angeles County, there has not been a confirmed Western Snowy Plover nesting on a county beach since 1949. Fencing off nesting sites has worked at other areas, including Huntington Beach.
The U.S. population of the Western Snowy Plover numbered fewer than 1400 individuals in 1993, when the species was first listed as threatened. In 2005, the species had grown to 2300 individuals.
-Bill at
Cheshire Cat Photo™ – “Your Guide to California’s Wonderland™”
You can view higher-resolution photos (*generally* 7-30 megabytes, compressed) at the Cheshire Cat Photo™ Pro Gallery on Shutterfly™, where you can also order prints and gifts decorated with the photos of your choice from the gallery. Apparel and other gifts decorated with some of our most popular photos can be ordered from the Cheshire Cat Photo™ Store on CafePress®. Both Shutterfly™ and CafePress® ship to most international locations worldwide! Framed prints and prints on canvas can be ordered from our galleries on imagekind® and redbubble®. All four locations are accessible from here. If you don’t see what you want or would like to receive an email when new photos are up on the site, send us an email at info@cheshirecatphoto.com.
©2010 William F. Hackett. All Rights Reserved.
