Wilson’s Plovers are easy to spot when you’re at the beach. Just look for the little white and tan birds with big black beaks.
I got to see some Wilson Plover adults and chicks on a recent visit to Florida’s Gulf Coast. While I enjoyed photographing them, it was also heartening to see the next generation of the birds — because the plovers have a problem.
“With an estimated population of fewer than 1,000 Florida birds, informed by Audubon science and that of the FWC’s own researchers, Wilson’s Plovers and their habitats need the additional protections afforded to state-designated Threatened Species,” Audubon Florida has noted in a call to help the birds. “Wilson’s Plovers exceed the criteria for Threatened status due to their small and declining population size combined with the increasing vulnerability of their habitat to development, disturbance, and sea level rise.”
If you want to help Audubon and ask the state to protect the plovers, click here.
