Ormond Beach, Oxnard California
Final Nest Outcomes | Total Nests | Active Nests | Hatched Nests | Failed Nests |
Snowy Plover | 66 | 0 | 54 | 12 |
Least Tern | 19 | 0 | 13 | 6 |
We were very lucky this year to have video of the very last snowy plover chick of the season, just as it reached fledgling age. This is 4 weeks old for a snowy plover chick. It happened on August 30th, 27 days after we happened across the nest on a survey as it was actively hatching. It's rare for a chick to survey 4 weeks, and even rarer to be able to find it! Note that the tail still hasn't grown out all the way, and the scruffy feathers. This bird has just reached the age of flight, although it still probably hasn't quite mastered the skill yet. We found it with it's dad still standing guard. Thanks to Alecia Smith for the video!
This is the nest hatching on August 3rd, 2023.
What is next?
Now that nesting season has finished, it's time to catch up with beach cleanups and removing those habitat fences for the winter. All season we ask beach cleanup groups to refrain from putting equipment on the beach and to not have any large organized group activities. The cutoff for these activities is September 15th, now we have almost 6 months to go to work. Coastal Cleanup day is on September 23, 2023 and there are many outstanding organizations planning local cleanups. Visit this website to find out how to join.
October - Volunteer Work Days and Fence Removal
In October we winterize our habitat fences by removing the entire 1.5 miles of tideline fences. We will also be doing habitat cleanups and organizing and winterizing our storage containers, inventorying supplies and merchandise and begin the planning process for next year. We will have lots of volunteer opportunities. Contact outreach@venturaadubon.org to get on our volunteer list. Also watch for newsletter announcements and our social media for opportunities.