Out of the Incubator and Into the Wild

We rarely hear what happens to our wildlife charges after they have "flown the nest." Most of the birds and mammals Project Wildlife takes in for rehabilitation are not banded or marked in any way. Banding or marking programs require a project or scientific study authorized ahead of time by the appropriate state or federal government agencies. These same state, federal and military agencies cooperate by employing biologists, managers, and volunteers who are part of a coordinated effort to manage and save endangered species. These folks watch over the beaches and areas where the endangered California Least Terns and Western Snowy Plovers nest.

Last year I had the thrilling experience of seeing two Snowy Plover eggs and one Least Tern egg hatch after incubation. In addition, a hatchling Snowy Plover chick was brought to us by a rehabiltator from the Wetlands and Wildlife Center in Huntington Beach. These birds (and some additional Least Tern chicks brought in for rehabilitation) were banded with metal USFWS bands and additional color bands just prior to release.

Least Terns migrate in the fall as far as South America and do not return to breed for a possible two to three years. There are still several thousand arriving back in California each year, so the chances of the tiny bands on the eleven released Least Terns being spotted are remote. The Snowy Plovers released do remain and breed in San Diego, and mate and raise young when they are about one year old. The Plovers are easier for observers to identify, unlike the flying Terns, who only land for a few hours to rest, brood or raise young. Adult and young Plovers forage by running around, little legs twinkling on the sand, bands a-glitter, occasionally halting when they spot a tasty shrimp, fly or tiny crustacean. 

At the end of last year I was pleasantly surprised to hear reports that two of the three banded Plovers were seen after release in Coronado. Being a pessimist, and knowing the numbers of species who prey on Plovers (hawks, herons, gulls, crows - anything with a plover-sized mouth that flies), I didn't hold up much hope of hearing of their long-term survival. I was greatly surprised to hear at the beginning of the 2002 breeding season that two of the banded birds had been spotted at nesting areas in Coronado.

I got another surprise when Elizabeth Copper (Least Tern biologist who coordinates recovery plan efforts in San Diego County) emailed me on March 23rd to report that "one of the plovers that hatched out has a 3-egg nest at North Island and another is setting up territory at North Island. The first one chose to make her nest in the middle of a beach access road, which made me laugh, as the article you found on captive-raised plovers indicated that the only minor difference between wild birds and captive birds was that captive-raised birds did not rank quite as high in selecting nest sites. There was a tire track within 3 inches of the nest. On the other hand, there is a security post 100 yards away and all the people there were very interested so the nest may be very well placed after all."

That female apparently had picked a good location, since in the third week of April the bird and her mate were seen aggressively defending their chicks. It's a tough life for a plover mom and dad since the chicks are grounded for over three weeks. Just like ducklings, quail, and some other ground nesting species, the parents simply provide warmth, protection and lead them to food whilst the young bodies and wings grow in size. When predators come, the parents sometimes fly off, trying to distract the potential attacker, leaving the chicks to crouch motionless against the ground, blending in with their grey, beige and white plumage.

We'll hope that the female Plover will be successful, but she may not even see her chicks fledge. The male, being an exemplary parent, incubates the chicks all night and 10% of the day. If we were east of the Rockies, the couple would stay together and raise their young, but things are different here on the West Coast. Mom, after about six days, goes off leaving the male with the chicks. She then starts up a new nest with a new husband. That's not the end of it as the birds practice serial polyandry and polygamy. The males also re-nest later with a new female.

We could just blame it on that California lifestyle, but in reality there must be some evolutionary advantage to the birds that exhibit this behavior. One obvious one is that the females get to raise several broods in a shorter period of time, and they also (and here's one our female readers will appreciate) get the dads to do most of the work! 

Meryl Faulkner

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