Pacifica Tribune/Western Snowy Plovers return to Pacifica State Beach, 1/13/15.
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| You looking at me? |
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| 75% roosting decline in Pacifica, but does that mean 75% increase further south? |
"Visitors
to Pacifica State Beach on Christmas day had the holiday treat of
seeing 12 Western Snowy Plovers. As many as 60 visitors from all over
the world got a close-up look through binoculars shared by two
enthusiastic volunteers. On New Year's Day, 17 plovers were sighted on
the beach.
Related article - San Francisco Chronicle/Local: in Peninsula Coastside/John Maybury, 6/25/10.
"These tiny snowy plovers (see above) have lost most of their natural habitat along the coast, but a few of these endangered shorebirds still call Pacifica State Beach at Linda Mar home."
Reference - City of Pacifica/Pacifica State Beach. "Western Snowy Plovers. Seasonal fencing to protect the western snowy plover was installed north of the Crespi path entrance on the west side of the dunes at Pacifica State Beach Friday, August 15 as part of the plan to protect the threatened bird. The fencing will remain up until the plovers leave in mid-April and will be removed for the summer until mid-August. In Pacifica, snowy plovers over-winter -- usually arriving mid-August and leaving sometime in March or April. During this time they fatten up on rich protein diet of kelp flies, beach hoppers, other insects and small invertebrates washed up on the beach, and occasionally in the back dunes.
When not foraging, snowy plovers nestle down in the sand, low enough to be warmed by radiant heat and still have a view out to the sea. Their primary defense is sitting still and blending in. These birds are on the federal endangered species list because with so many people now also using the beach, this main method of defense is not enough to keep them from being disturbed. The western Snowy Plover winter roosting population at Pacifica State Beach has declined by 75 percent over the last 12 years."
Note Photographs: single plover from the San Francisco Chronicle article, community roosting from the Pacifica Beach Coalition.
Posted by Kathy Meeh
22 comments:
Can we eat them? No
Can we eat their eggs? No
Interesting... And on that same day, 4 unicorns were spotted at Winter's Tavern.
Only In Pacifica:
City Council and the residents are more worried about the snowy plover than a "unaccounted for" $4,000,000.
Pacifica is doing fine! It's our day in the sun! Our economy is on the upswing and we can afford to pay all our employees what we pay them. Why worry about the 4 million. That is the past. Look towards the future. We have a never ending fountain of money here. We are going to build a new library and Palmetto will be the jewel of the coast.
10:43
Puff puff pass Hippie!
942 Bet the unicorns didn't require fencing and their own private section of beach. Plovers are divas. Those unicorns probably car-pooled to Winters in a Suburu. Unicorns don't put on airs.
1043 You forgot to put that on official City of Pacifica letterhead. Otherwise, it's a perfect City Hall press release.
Are the snowy plovers city employees?
It's ironically funny: We manage to dedicate huge portions of our open space to plovers, garter snakes and frogs and yet when it comes to our four-pawed family members: nada, zilch, goose-egg, empty set... But what they do get, after years of community in-fighting and expenditures to the tune of hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars, is a glorified slaughterhouse pen at Sanchez with operational hours only acceptable to the unemployed and residents in good standing of the Pacifica Hobo Internment Camp. Perfect. A big wet doggie lick to the City Council and members of the Pacifica Environmental Family.
Well, the doggies did temporarily have a dog beach, a lot like the plovers have now, at Sharp Park back in the day circa 2002. But those wonderful purveyors of equitable green recreation in Pacifica (i.e., former Council members Landsale, Freeland, DiJaknowitt and Digrade) managed a stealth strike with their most potent weapon, i.e., the con-scent calendar drone, to end the MF'er for good. Well done boyz!
Esplanade Beach is an excellent and apparently legal off-leash dog beach. The tide is quite low in the afternoons this week and people are able to walk their dogs safely from the Esplanade Steps North to the Secret Waterfall.
anon 8:18
Your clever message misses some important distinctions.......
I've never stepped in a pile of Garter snake shit.
I've never been menaced by an angry or over zealous Red Legged frog.
Snowy Plovers don't scratch up my landscaping before killing it with their piss.
What do these innocent little critters have in common?????
They aren't owned by selfish and irresponsible humans.
Nice try 9:09 trying to send dogs and their guardians to their death! What do you think is causing all of the erosion and slides on those cliffs? Couldn't be the brutal tides, could it? Even the 2001 City Council acknowledged that beach to be unsafe for the majority of its users and therefore designated Sharp Park as the appropriate dog beach. Of course extreme enviro-mental cases like Ian would have none of that.
Way back then the smart money on who killed the doggie beach at Sharp Park was on a certain four term city councilman, now retired. He just hated to see the birds being chased by dogs. Council voted to make it an off-leash beach and then quietly failed to take the final, legally required step to make it happen. It was that simple. Probably on the advice of a very savvy CM or city attorney when asked to make it go away. You know who they work for, don't ya?
@Enough@9:07:
Thanks for your thoughtful post. Allow me to address some of your concerns:
1. You claim you have never stepped in a pile of garter snake shit. Well, since garter snakes are common in our backyards, front yards, etc. and since all living creatures do expel waste products, I contend that you have indeed "stepped in it" but probably without knowing it.
2. You've never been menaced by an angry RLF? Well, since all creatures that have avoided extinction through the year 2014 have done so by protecting/defending themselves, if you have never been menaced by a RLF then perhaps you have never menaced one of them.
3. You say that Western Snowy Plovers don't scratch up and piss on your landscape. That is because WSP's don't roost or nest on your landscape as they prefer dry, coastal sand dunes. Plenty of other birds, however, do. Fact.
Perhaps if Enough was able to get some therapy and a service dog to help guide them through life, then their obsessive hatred of man's best friend would diminish. Otherwise, try and accept the fact that over 40% of Pacifica households have at least one dog, and that these special creatures routinely perform unselfish acts of bravery and assistance to help us humans make it through life. If Enough's problem is with inconsiderate humans, so be it. But don't take your nasty anger out on these creatures that give so much more to society than they ever take.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, as of 2012, over 24,000 acres of valuable coastal beach area in Washington, Oregon and California has been designated as critical habitat for the Western Snowy Plover. That is the equivalent of over 38 square miles! Of that, over 16,000 acres is located in Calif.
And, according to National Park Service estimates, there are roughly 2,100 Western Snowy Plovers along the Pacific Coast from Washington to Baja. That would mean that each WSP enjoys approximately 12 acres of protected beach area to enjoy an undisturbed life of sex and gluttony. Even the humans living in Atherton can't claim that...
Since Linda Mar/Pacifica State Beach has NEVER been designated as a part of this 24,000 plus WSP protected habitat acreage windfall, it is complete insanity to restrict recreational access on that beach when you consider its proximity to densely populated urban areas. Perhaps, like the infinite number of monkeys at a typewriter, 9:07 finally got it right and "enough is enough"!
148 Makes me wonder. The goal of these protection and conservation programs is to increase the protected specie's population numbers. That takes decades and probably won't happen during our lifetimes, but as it does, how much more space will these species need? Will going to the beach be just a story the old-timers tell? What if the annual counts decline? Will we see more restrictions to change that? I don't know if these programs are wisdom or folly, but unintended consequences can be profound.
anon 12:38
You got me all wrong.
I love doggies (and kitties too).
In fact I love all living things.
I have had enough .......
of the entitled, preachy and hypocritical dog owners who think everybody should quietly embrace the piss, shit and aggressive behavior of their little furry friends.
If you want respect, give it!
"75% roosting decline in Pacifica, but does that mean 75% increase further south?"
There is no correlation.
Contact USF&W if you need information about plover populations. In the meantime, let's all share the shore -- we're all on this planet together.
638, well, well. There were as many as 17 birds roosting at urban Linda Mar Beach counted on New Years Day. Maybe the other few birds flew to Half Moon Bay where there is a quieter nesting site. "..If you need information about the plover populations,.. contact USF&W", and let us know.
You also said, "let's all share the shore.." and "we're all on this planet together". Great! Then, how about more shoreline areas for our dogs on leash, and especially off leash so that they may run and play? (You know, the way it used to be in the old days (10 years ago) when the there were more plovers roosting).
Yawn
Only in Pacifica where we have an "unaccounted for" 4 million dollars, are people so worried about a little bird.
Time to tell the truth about the plovers and the intentions of their friends. The problem on that beach is people, not dogs. Should have banned people from that beach but dogs are a softer target since they don't vote. They also don't drive themselves to the beach, so by banning people we would have killed 2 birds with one stone. And neither one would have been a plover. People, enjoy LMBeach while you can. You're on the way out.
638, from Pacifica Shorebird Alliance. "The group of birds known as shorebirds is comprised of the sandpipers, plovers and related birds that forage along our beaches, mudflats and rocky shores. Some species, like Snowy Plovers, Black Oystercatchers, and Spotted Sandpipers, nest in our area, but most shorebirds are only winter visitors to the California coast, nesting elsewhere to the east and north. Many species of shorebirds travel north all the way to the tundra to lay their eggs and raise their young. "
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