Snowy Plover

 

A small plover of beaches and barren ground, the Snowy Plover can be found across North and South America, Eurasia, and Africa. In North America it is restricted to the Gulf and Pacific coasts of the United States.

The Snowy Plover frequently raises two broods a year, and sometimes three in places where the breeding season is long. The female deserts her mate and brood about the time the chicks hatch and initiates a new breeding attempt with a different male.

Young Snowy Plovers leave their nest within three hours of hatching. They flatten themselves on the ground when a parent signals the approach of people or potential predators. 

They walk, run, and swim well and forage unassisted by parents, but require periodic brooding for many days after hatching. Cornell All About Birds