A wary Snowy Plover at the Devereaux roost. Photo courtesy Morgan Ball.

The Pacific Coast population of the Western Snowy Plover was designated "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act in 1993 because of declining population levels. The stretch of beach between Isla Vista and Ellwood (including Sands Beach) was designated "Critical Habitat" in December of 1999; at the time of the critical habitat listing, the population was estimated at less than 1500 individuals.

Up to 150 Western Snowy Plovers feed and rest on Sands Beach each winter. This represents 10% of the remaining population. They stopped nesting here in the mid-1960s when Coal Oil Point (which includes Sands Beach) was opened to public access. If these birds are not protected, the beach could be abandoned entirely by Snowy Plovers in the near future.

Snowy Plovers typically arrive at Sands Beach in mid-late August and leave for their breeding grounds by June. This means the plovers are here when the beach is used most heavily by humans (primarily UCSB students). The birds most often use a 1/4 mile section of the beach in front of Devereux slough, above the high tide line, where drying kelp sustains the invertebrates upon which they feed.

Snowy Plovers are hard to see because they are small and sand-colored, and when the beach is busy, they spend most of their time crouched in small depressions in the sand. Most people who use the beach do not even know the snowy plovers are there. Though people greatly outnumber dogs on Sands Beach (11 dogs for every 100 people in 1999), Snowy Plovers react more strongly to encroaching dogs than they do to humans. Twenty-five percent of all dogs on Sands Beach disturb snowy plovers, and most of these incidents involve unleashed dogs actively chasing plovers. Only 7% of dogs on the Reserve beach are leashed.

What you can do to help our Snowy Plovers

1. When walking up and down the beach, stay on the wet, hard-packed sand; the plovers rarely use this area.

2. A Snowy Plover naturalist is stationed at Sands Beach a few afternoons a week with a spotting scope trained on the plover roost. If you're at the beach during those times (look for the sign at the beach entrance), ask for a view of the plovers, and learn more about these amazing birds!

3. Choose a beach which is not used by Snowy Plovers to exercise your dog. Or if you bring it to Sands Beach, PLEASE keep it on a leash (as is required by local, posted regulations) and keep it away from the roost area at all times.

4. If you enter Sands Beach using the Delta Trail (along the eastern edge of Devereux Slough), be aware that you are walking through prime plover habitat, and that the birds might be roosting in the debris zone near the trailhead. From the trail, proceed towards the point, and then directly to the wet sand to avoid the roost area.

5. If plovers react to you, retreat several paces and walk in a wide arc around them.

Your cooperation will help the plovers and will also allow you to continue to visit this beautiful beach for recreation and relaxation.

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Updated: July 2, 2002