Protecting the Plover

At UCSB’s Coal Oil Point Reserve, it’s all hands on deck to safeguard the western snowy plover, a threatened species on the Pacific coast, against the effects of the recent oil spill

The western snowy plover is a portly sort of bird, its barrel chest leaving its spindly legs in permanent shadow as it scampers breakneck across the sand in search of tasty bugs. There’s a regal intrigue to this stout, busy ornithoid — the person at the party you’d love to meet if only you could catch up.

As for proper, official identifying characteristics of the plover, they go like this: A thin, dark bill; pale brown to gray upper parts; white or buff-colored belly; darker patches on the shoulder and head; white forehead and supercilium, or eyebrow line.  Read the full article