Snowy Plover
Snowy Plover has surged: up 817% on the route-weighted index since 1970.
About the Snowy Plover
The Snowy Plover (Anarhynchus nivosus) is a North American member of the Plovers & Lapwings (Charadriidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the shorebirds.
- Size
- 6–12 in long (15–30 cm) — a small to medium shorebird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Shorelines, mudflats, beaches, flooded fields and wet meadows.
- Diet
- Invertebrates probed or picked from mud, sand and shallow water.
- Range
- Recorded on 23 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 7 states, most concentrated in the Great Basin.
- Family
- Charadriidae · Shorebirds
Notable Snowy Plover Trends
No notable trend signals for Snowy Plover. See the full index history below.
Snowy Plover Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Snowy Plover is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.02 (95% range 0.00–0.03). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±177.2%, with 80% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.03 |
| 2026 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.03 |
| 2027 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.03 |
| 2028 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.03 |
| 2029 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.03 |
Where the Snowy Plover Is Detected
BBS routes recording Snowy Plover, sized by most recent count.
Snowy Plover Population Trend by State
| California | +106% | 1979 | 4 |
| Colorado | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Florida | insufficient data | n/a | 3 |
| Kansas | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Oklahoma | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Texas | insufficient data | n/a | 7 |
| Utah | 11× | 1993 | 6 |
Snowy Plover Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Great Basin | +355% | 1982 | 6 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | -79% | 1970 | 4 |
Snowy Plover Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 817% since 1970. Many shorebirds have declined steeply, reflecting pressure on the coastal and wetland stopovers they depend on.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.