ASTORIA, Ore. — Snowy plover nests have been spotted at Clatsop Spit for the first time in decades.
The Daily Astorian reports that the sighting of the nests comes three years after Fort Steven State Park designated a half-mile portion of the beach as a special management area for the bird species.
The sighting is exciting for wildlife biologists because it connects the Western Washington and Northern Oregon snowy plover populations.
Western snowy plovers were listed as a threatened species in 1993.
Last year, the sighting of snowy plover nests and one successful hatchling marked a major success at Nehalem Bay State Park south of Manzanita in Tillamook County.
That same year, three chicks also hatched at the Sitka Sedge Natural Area near Pacific City.
