Wildlife experts in Oregon have been delighted by the steadily increasing numbers of a bird species once considered on the brink of local extinction. However, human restraint — rather than significant intervention — has allowed the species to recover.
Western snowy plovers — small, white shore birds — numbered only 55 on the Oregon Coast in 1993, according to The Statesman Journal. But efforts to keep humans away from beach nesting sites have helped the breeding population to recover, with as many as 483 recorded by 2023.
Long stretches of dry sand have been cordoned off on Oregon's coastal beaches, allowing the birds to lay eggs and raise young in peace. The presence of humans and dogs on beaches saw nesting sites trampled, which led to population decline.
Snowy plovers were listed as a threatened species in the Endangered Species Act in 1993, but giving them space and time to breed without fear of predators has helped the birds bounce back.
"They're a very hearty little bird," Cheryl Strong, a wildlife biologist and plover lead for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Oregon, told the Statesman Journal. "If we just give them a little space, they're quite resilient."
It's not just foot traffic that put the little cotton-ball-like birds at risk. Invasive grasses, which are now being removed, had reduced habitat areas. The presence of humans also encouraged the presence of crows, which would eat plover eggs in greater numbers.
Even personal drones taking aerial pictures and videos would scare plovers and lead to them deserting their nesting areas.
Similar policies have been working at other popular plover sites, with numbers recovering in Washington state and California.
"We're making great strides in reversing the decline of this species," said Cindy Burns, Siuslaw National Forest wildlife biologist, per the Statesman Journal. "But it takes all of us, so we urge people to do their part to understand nesting season rules and to share the beach this spring and summer."
Seeing these adorable creatures in good health benefits local residents, tourists, and conservationists, but the snowy plover also acts as an indicator species for the coastal dune ecosystem. According to the Bird Alliance of Oregon, snowy plovers help scientists monitor the health of the dunes.
While focused restoration programs are often helpful in allowing species to recover, such as the Iberian lynx in Portugal and Spain and the red-legged frog in California, the population boom of snowy plovers demonstrates the kind of impact that giving these creatures the space they deserve can have.
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