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Threatened snowy plover chicks successfully nested, fledged in Huntington Beach

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Two pairs of threatened Western snowy plovers have nested and successfully fledged four chicks in the 12.4-acre protected area at Huntington State Beach, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

State park biologists found a pair of adult plovers with two chicks in May during routine monitoring for the shorebirds. Two days later, a group of students participating in a beach cleanup found a second plover nest.

Biologists this week reported that all three chicks from the second nest had feathers large enough to fly. One chick from the first nest also fledged.

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“Huntington State Beach has not seen this type of Western snowy plovers activity in many years,” Todd Lewis, Orange Coast District superintendent for California State Parks, said in a statement. “The hard work of our natural resource management team and volunteer docents is paying off.”

Biologists and volunteers from the Irvine-based Sea & Sage Audubon Society will continue monitoring the birds.

The federal government classifies Western snowy plovers as threatened because of a loss of habitat and breeding sites caused by human activity and invasive non-native plants.

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priscella.vega@latimes.com

Vega writes for Times Community News.

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