Trip Details

The elusive western snowy plover lives and breeds on the sand on only a few of our local natural beaches. A small federally threatened shorebird, this grey/brown and white bird has darker breeding plumage. It blends in well on the sandy beach, making it difficult to spot. Following a short talk by Sharon Iranpour about plover life, a  demonstration of a replica nest, and other shorebirds we might see,  we’ll walk across the grassland to the bluff and down onto the beach to look for them and other shorebirds. If there is time, we can also check out beach drift and some interesting rock formations. This is an easy walk, partially on soft sand and the distance is approximately a mile roundtrip. Bring binoculars, wear sturdy shoes and layer up.  This event requires walking a short distance in soft sand. Walking distance about 1 mile. Meets at the Villa Creek parking lot on CA-1 north of Cayucos. The parking lot  is the fourth parking area 3.3 miles north of where CA-1 becomes single-lane.