After the Partners in Flight V International Conference SJV staff and partners (featured in the photo) toured the Great Salt Lake, where the Audubon-managed South Shore Preserve and Lee Creek Area is located. The world’s largest concentrations of Snowy Plovers nest around the Great Salt Lake in prime habitats like the Lee Creek Area. This was of particular interest to SJV partner Lydia Lozano, who worked with Snowy Plovers along the Sinaloa coast and has had her banded Snowy Plovers found at the Great Salt Lake. “I felt right at home,” Lydia said. “I knew just where to start looking for nests. The habitat is really the same as the areas in Sinaloa where we find Snowy Plovers.”

Western Snowy Plovers are listed as endangered in the U.S. and threatened in Mexico. Some of the biggest threats to its survival include human disturbance, depredation, and flooding of nest sites. SJV partners in Mexico are working to improve habitat, protect nests, and monitor populations of this sensitive species. Learn more about some of these efforts here and here.