Number of snowy plover fledglings rises.Byline: The Register-Guard The western snowy plover snowy plover n. A small plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) of the western United States and Mexico, generally yellowish gray above and snowy white below and on the sides of the head. made gains for a second consecutive year on Oregon beaches, setting a record for the number of young birds that survived long enough to fly and leave their parents, officials said. This year, 107 birds matured enough to leave their nests, nearly three times the annual average of 37 since monitoring began in 1990, and far exceeding last year's then-record of 60. Biologists attribute the higher number of fledglings this year to a combination of factors, including improved habitat from restoration projects; increased chick survival because of predator management; greater separation of beach users from plover plover (plŭv`ər), common name for some members of the large family Charadriidae, shore birds, small to medium in size, found in ice-free lands all over the world. nesting areas; and good weather, without much rain during the plover's nesting season. Habitat restoration projects in Oregon took place at Sutton Beach, Siltcoos Estuary, Oregon Dunes Overlook, Tenmile Estuary in northern Coos County Coos County is the name of two counties in the United States:
 s), city (1990 pop. 15,076), Coos co., SW Oreg., a port of entry on Coos Bay; founded 1854 as Marshfield, inc. 1874, renamed 1944. ; Bandon Beach State Natural Area
and New River-area beaches.
"As is almost always the case, it takes a number of factors working together to improve something as complex as nesting success for a shorebird,' said Kerrie Palermo, a Bureau of Land Management senior wildlife biologist ''' The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. A wildlife biologist is someone who studies wild animals and their habitats. in Coos Bay. Washington's beaches enjoyed similar increases, with 45 successful nests this year producing 27 fledglings. Snowy plovers are small, pale-colored shorebirds with dark patches on either side of the upper breast. The coastal population breeds along the Pacific coast from southern Washington to Mexico and was listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as threatened in 1993 under the federal Endangered Species Act The federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (16 U.S.C.A. §§ 1531 et seq.) was enacted to protect animal and plant species from extinction by preserving the ecosystems in which they survive and by providing programs for their conservation. . Oregon lists both the inland and coastal populations as a threatened species. Oregon's plover population went from 72 in 1993 to 141 in 1997, but the effects of El Nino weather patterns in the winters of 1997 and 1998 caused plover numbers to decline along the Pacific Coast. Biologists attribute the decline to loss of nesting habitat due to development of dune areas, the encroachment An illegal intrusion in a highway or navigable river, with or without obstruction. An encroachment upon a street or highway is a fixture, such as a wall or fence, which illegally intrudes into or invades the highway or encloses a portion of it, diminishing its width or area, but of European beach grass into former open dune areas, human disturbance of nest sites, and raccoons, ravens and non-native red foxes preying on nests. |
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