ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE WESTERN SNOWY PLOVER AT SAN LUIS OBISPO COAST DISTRICT IN 2018 Prepared by California State Parks San Luis Obispo Coast District 750 Hearst Castle Road San Simeon, CA 93452 USFWS Recovery Permit #TE-082237-7 CDFW Scientific Collecting Permit #SC-10633 December 2018 2 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 METHODS ................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Survey Areas ............................................................................................................................. 8 Hearst San Simeon State Park (CA-69 through CA-77) ......................................................... 8 Villa Creek Beach (CA-78) ................................................................................................... 10 Morro Strand State Beach (CA-80) ...................................................................................... 10 Sandspit (CA-81) ................................................................................................................... 11 Monitoring ............................................................................................................................... 12 Floating Eggs ........................................................................................................................ 13 Determining Nest Fate .......................................................................................................... 13 Current Management ............................................................................................................. 15 Habitat Protection ................................................................................................................ 15 Habitat Enhancement ............................................................................................................ 15 Morro Bay Dredge Project ................................................................................................... 16 Predator Management .......................................................................................................... 16 Enforcement .......................................................................................................................... 17 Public Education and Outreach ............................................................................................ 17 Training ................................................................................................................................. 18 Volunteer Efforts ................................................................................................................... 18 RESULTS ................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Wintering WSP ....................................................................................................................... 19 Breeding Population Surveys ................................................................................................. 20 Banded WSP ............................................................................................................................ 24 Hearst San Simeon State Park .............................................................................................. 26 Villa Creek Beach ................................................................................................................. 27 Morro Strand ........................................................................................................................ 28 Sandspit ................................................................................................................................. 28 Injured/Dead WSP .................................................................................................................. 29 Hearst San Simeon State Park .............................................................................................. 29 Villa Creek Beach ................................................................................................................. 30 Morro Strand ........................................................................................................................ 30 Sandspit ................................................................................................................................. 30 Nest and Egg Numbers ........................................................................................................... 31 Hearst San Simeon State Park .............................................................................................. 32 3 Villa Creek Beach ................................................................................................................. 33 Morro Strand ........................................................................................................................ 35 Sandspit ................................................................................................................................. 37 Floated Eggs ............................................................................................................................ 41 Hearst San Simeon State Park .............................................................................................. 41 Villa Creek Beach ................................................................................................................. 41 Morro Strand ........................................................................................................................ 41 Sandspit ................................................................................................................................. 41 Chick/Fledgling Fate ............................................................................................................... 42 Hearst San Simeon State Park .............................................................................................. 42 Villa Creek Beach ................................................................................................................. 42 Morro Strand ........................................................................................................................ 42 Sandspit ................................................................................................................................. 43 Depredation ............................................................................................................................. 43 Predator Presence across District Beaches ......................................................................... 43 Predator Management across District Beaches ................................................................... 45 Hearst San Simeon State Park .............................................................................................. 45 Villa Creek Beach ................................................................................................................. 45 Morro Strand ........................................................................................................................ 47 Sandspit ................................................................................................................................. 49 Human Activities ..................................................................................................................... 52 Hearst San Simeon State Park .............................................................................................. 53 Villa Creek Beach ................................................................................................................. 53 Morro Strand ........................................................................................................................ 55 Sandspit ................................................................................................................................. 58 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................................................................ 61 Future Management ............................................................................................................... 62 4 TABLES Table 1: Volunteer Hours and Activities in 2018. ................................................................................................... 18 Table 2: Summary of Winter Census Results from District Beaches in 2018. ..................................................... 19 Table 3: Breeding Window Survey Results on District Beaches in 2018. ............................................................. 20 Table 4: Banding Locations of WSP Observed on District Beaches October 2017-September 2018. ................ 25 Table 5: Banding Locations of WSP Fledges Observed on District Beaches October 2017-September 2018. .. 25 Table 6: Number of Nests Found by Year at District Beaches 2004-2018. ........................................................... 31 Table 7: Number of Nests Found by Month at Villa Creek Beach 2004-2018. .................................................... 33 Table 8: Nest Fates and Percentages for Villa Creek Beach in 2018. ...................................................................