While thinking about Southern California, thoughts of waterfronts, tanning rays, and riding the waves are the images in your mind. Fun lovers who enjoy the beaches have limitless relaxation events. Missing are the shore birds that at one time skipped along the water's edge.
The shore birds like the threatened Western Snowy Plovers have taken to flying to more remote areas because people and their pets on the beach have caused trouble in the bird community.
Dr. Kevin Lafferty, a marine ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) says, "For beach-nesting birds like the snowy plover, such disturbance has made the majority of former breeding sites unsuitable."
Dr. Lafferty suggested that wild life managers protect a small area on the beaches for bird habitat. He mentions that we can protect places on the beach without interfering with people using the beach. With research he found that if people came within 60 feet of the birds they would fly away. With his research he found that 10 percent of people and 40 percent of pet animals like dogs upset the shore birds.
Lafferty found that human activity often displaced shore birds, approached within 20 yards, and more than 70 percent of birds flew away when disturbed. "Most disturbances occurred near the water, but people used so much of the beach that birds were unable to find places away from people to rest and feed," said Lafferty.
When people and their dogs arrived on the beaches the Western Snowy Plovers left the shore and hid from the disturbances on the dry sand rather than move from their chosen habitat. Despite the disturbances by people and their dogs the Western Snowy Plovers remained devoted fans of their favored habitat around the mouth of a lagoon or cove. With the choice lagoons and coves available without disturbances the Plovers visited the beach areas less.
Wild life managers began a trial event at the Coal Oil Point Reserve this summer to aid a Snowy Plover chick and its father from agitation. The managers roped off an area marking the young bird's region. The managers asked people to leash their dogs and stay away from the roped off area. Beach users still had about a 1000 feet of the water's edge where they could still walk and wade. Some volunteers stayed near the roped off area to suggest people not enter and disturb the birds.
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