Banded Snowy Plovers at Grayland Beach State Park
Written by Andy McCormick
Andy McCormick, Volunteer and Former Board President of Eastside Audubon
While birding for the Pelican Dive Bar Birdathon Big Day Jeremy Lucas and I found two Snowy Plovers at Grayland Beach State Park. These birds were foraging in separate areas of dry sand in the dunes outside the protected area. Jeremy had his scope and spotted leg bands on the first bird. As we headed back to the trailhead, we found the second plover which was also banded. I was able to get photographs of both birds showing the leg bands.
One plover had an “orange/red/orange” (o/r/o) band on the left leg and a white band on the right. The second plover had an “aqua/white” (a/w) band on the left, and also had a white band on the right. We reported the observations and photographs to both the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center through their Google group email, and to the Pacific Coast Bird Conservation group.
REPORT ON BANDED BIRDS
Snowy Plover with aqua/white band on left leg.
Photo by Andy McCormick
A nice reward for reporting leg bands on birds is a reply which provides information about where the birds were banded. Both of these Snowy Plovers were banded at the Coos Bay North Spit in Oregon. The o/r/o plover was banded on June 19, 2022 and is in its first spring. The a/w plover was banded on July 2, 2016 making that bird nearly seven years old. The a/w plover appeared to be engaged in a distraction display as it ran from us, then returned and stopped and started to run again when we remained motionless. Since there may have been a nest nearby, we spent less time observing this bird.
STORY MAP AND BIRD MIGRATION EXPLORER
Placing leg bands is an important part of the conservation plan for Snowy Plovers. Restoring and protecting habitat are other important conservation measures. Audubon California has produced a Story Map which reports some increase in Snowy Plover populations following restoration and protection of their nesting habitat. Access the Story Map here.
Snowy Plover with orange/red/orange band on left leg.
Photo by Andy McCormick
Understanding how Snowy Plovers use different habitats and locations as they migrate is another key to protecting them as a species. The Audubon Bird Migration Explorer is a new tool which provides information on migration routes, connections among areas birds use in migration, and conservation challenges along the migration route.
The Snowy Plover Migration Map created for this article uses a 12-minute video using the Bird Migration Explorer to highlight the connection between Coos Bay, OR where these two birds were banded and Grayland Beach State Park, WA where they were observed. To view this video, click here. If you would like more information on the Audubon Bird Migration Explorer, please reach out to president@eastsideaudubon.org
REPORT BANDED BIRDS
Birders can help these efforts to protect birds like the Snowy Plovers by reporting any birds we find that have leg bands. For Snowy Plovers, report bands to snpl_bandreporting@googlegroups.com. For other birds or wildlife, report bands to the North America Bird Banding Program at the USGS (United States Geological Survey). Both websites provide a form for inserting the date, time, location, and band information for each bird that is reported.