| 2009 IUCN Red List Category (as evaluated by BirdLife International - the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN): Near Threatened Justification This species has a small population which has declined significantly since the 1950s. However, there have been overall population increases since 1991 as a result of intensive conservation management, so the species is listed as Near Threatened. It is still dependent on intensive conservation efforts, so if these cease, or if trends reverse, then it would warrant immediate uplisting again.
Family/Sub-family Charadriidae Species name author Ord, 1824 Taxonomic source(s) AOU checklist (1998 + supplements), SACC (2005 + updates), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993), Stotz et al. (1996) Identification 18 cm. Very pale, orange-legged plover. Pale grey upperparts, whitish underparts, breeding birds with black neck and breast-band, white forehead bordered by black bar across forecrown, white postocular supercilium, orange orbital ring and short, stubby orange bill tipped black. Non-breeding birds lack black neck, breast and forehead-bands, and bill is all black. Shows white rump in flight. Similar spp. Snowy Plover C. alexandrinus is smaller with blackish legs and thinner bill. Voice Plaintive whistle peep or descending peep-lo. |  |
Population estimate | Population trend | Range estimate (breeding/resident) | Country endemic? | 6,400 | increasing | 500,000 km2 | No |
Range & population Charadrius melodus breeds in the USA and Canada, with the 2001 range-wide breeding census recording 5,945 mature individuals20. Populations occur along the Atlantic coast (a preliminary estimate of 3,350 birds in 200316; 52% of the total), in the Great Plains (2,953 birds in 200117; 46% of the total) and in the Great Lakes region (110 breeding birds in 200418; 2% of the total). Totals in 1991, 1996 and 2001 respectively were 1,892, 2,581 and 2,920 breeding birds on the Atlantic Coast, 2,744, 3,284 and 2,953 in the Prairie Canada/U.S. northern Great Plains, and 32, 48 and 72 in the Great Lakes. These data indicate a total population increase of 8.4% since 1991 but an increase of just 0.2% since 1996. However, it must be noted that these increases are the result of sustained management initiatives, upon which populations remain dependent. Small numbers also nest on St Pierre and Miquelon (to France)11. Less than 60% of birds are recorded in winter3,7,8,9, from the Carolinas, USA, to Tamaulipas (and patchily Yucatán), Mexico, the Bahamas, Cuba and Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK)6, with records from Barbados, Haiti, Dominician Republic, Bermuda (to UK), Jamaica, Puerto Rico (to USA), Virgin Islands (to UK), Virgin Islands (to USA), and St Kitts and Nevis2,7,10,11. Small numbers in Sonora, north-west Mexico, may represent regular winterers8.
|  | Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria. | Ecology: It nests on sandy beaches, sandflats, barrier islands, alkali lakes, riverine sand/gravel bars, reservoirs, and sand/gravel pits7,9. Ephemeral pools, bay tidal flats and areas of open vegetation are all important brood-rearing habitats14. There is high winter site fidelity8,9 in sandy bays, lagoons, and algal-/mudflats3,7.
| Threats Drought, inappropriate water and beach management, gas/oil industry dredging operations, development, shoreline stabilisation and beach disturbance (including cat and dog predation) are key threats4,8,14. Leg related injuries, reducing fitness, have been recorded in birds fitted with anodised aluminium rings19.
| | Conservation measures underway CMS Appendix II. There were censuses in 1991, 1996 and 2001, and another was scheduled for 20067,8. It is considered Endangered in USA and Canada. There is a recovery plan for Atlantic coast breeders5,9. Predator management has increased hatching success1,5. Seasonal restrictions and public education have limited disturbance4,5. Measures to protect breeding and wintering beaches are having mixed results; $3 million/year is being spent in Atlantic USA alone, and this will need to be kept up indefinitely. Nature Canada filed a lawsuit in 2006 against the Canadian Environment Ministry for failing to take necessary measures under the Species at Risk Act which resulted in a revised Piping Plover recovery plan with critical habitat identified.
| | Conservation measures proposed Determine the importance of north-west Mexico for wintering birds. Continue breeding and wintering censuses5. Develop action plans for Great Lakes and wintering birds5,8. Protect breeding and wintering beaches, and expand existing measures1,5,8. Manage water sympathetically on the Great Plains8. Designate the Laguna Madre de Tamaulipas as a protected area.
| References Collar et al. (1992). 1. D. Amirault in litt. (1999). 2. P. Blanco R. in litt. (1999), 3. Brush (1995). 4. Hecht (1995). 5. A. Hecht in litt. (1999). 6. G. Hilton in litt. (2000). 7. Plissner and Haig (1997). 8. J. H. Plissner in litt. (1999). 9. USFWS (1996b). 10. J. Wilson in litt. (1999). 11. P. Wood in litt. (1999). 14. Elias et al. (2000). 16. USFWS (2004). 17. Ferland and Haig (2001). 18. Stucker (2004). 19. Amirault et al. (2006). 20. Haig et al. (2005).
| Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Matt Harding (BirdLife International), Isabel Isherwood (BirdLife International), David Wege (BirdLife International) | Contributors Diane Amirault (Eastern Canada Piping Plover Recovery Team), P. Blanco R., Ann Hecht (US Fish & Wildlife Service), Geoff Hilton (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds), J. H. Plissner, Jim Wilson (Georgia's Important Bird Areas Program), Pete Wood (BirdLife Indonesia) | IUCN Red List evaluators Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Greg Butcher (National Audubon Society) |
| Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Charadrius melodus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 9/2/2010 | This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List. To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums |
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