Nesting Snowy Plover - Part 1
Discovering the Nest
With the Summer nesting season in full swing in Anguilla, I came upon one of the island’s smallest shorebirds - the Snowy Plover - sitting on two eggs.
Just 6.25 inches in length and weighing between 1 and 2 ounces, this little cutie is a breeding resident. It is identified by its almost white color, thin dark bill, grayish legs, and partial breast band. During the breeding season, the male bands become more intense in color.
Females and juveniles often resemble Piping Plovers. Overall size, leg color, and bill shape help to distinguish this bird from its visiting “cousin.”
The male “scrapes” several sites before copulation. Nests are situated close to features like a branch, plant, or shell. The female ultimately chooses the final location. The nest is lined with small pebbles by both parents.
The clutch size for this species is three but may range from two to six. Clutches beyond four eggs may be from two females laying in the same scrape. This is a rare occurrence, and I have never seen one on our ponds.
The egg color is as follows:
“Buffy to sandy background, lightly to moderately covered with small spots and scrawls, mostly dark brown to black, but also (in small proportion) gray. Spotting density increases toward larger end.”
It is important to note that this is a relatively late nest for this species. It is common to see nests from January to March, with a few outliers into June in Anguilla. Recent rains may have caused the loss of a previous nest.
An alternative explanation provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birds of the World Site is as follows:
“The Snowy Plover employs an unusual facultative polygamous breeding system in many which females in some populations, and less frequently males, desert first broods soon after hatching to renest with new mates (Warriner et al. 1986), sometimes hundreds of kilometers from their first nests (Stenzel. et al. 1994).”
There is no way to be sure at this point what the history of this pair may be.
This nest has been placed perilously close to the edge of the water. Large amounts of rain may spell a disaster for this clutch.
With an incubation period of 26 to 32 days and no indication of when the eggs were laid, I will keep an eye on the site for further developments. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a successful outcome.
Stay tuned!
Pretty feathers and their eggs are totally camouflaged. Very cute bird. Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos.
Where do these cuties migrate from??