In 2007 we continued with the management of the WSP population at Coal Oil Point Reserve as in previous year. We were not able to track chicks until fledged age as in previous years. I attribute this to the more complex beach profile that prevented a clear view of the beach and the large number of simultaneous broods that hatched in the beginning and again at the end of the breeding season. We experimented with replacing plover eggs with wood eggs and then returning the hatching egg to the plover nest. This was s successful way to improve hatchability during a high skunk predation time but it was very laborious.

In 2008 we continued with the management of the WSP population at Coal Oil Point Reserve as in previous years. We were able to estimate chicks until fledged age. We experimented with replacing plover eggs with wood eggs and then returning the hatching egg to the plover nest. This was s successful way to improve hatchability during a high skunk predation time but it was very laborious.

In 2006 we continued with the management of the WSP population at Coal Oil Point Reserve as in previous year. We abandoned the use of mini-exclosures after Great Horned owls cued in the exclosure to pursue adult plovers. We continued to raise chicks from destroyed or abandoned nests and banded the 10 chicks that fledged in captivity. 48 chicks fledged at the beach and another 11 fledged in our nursery. This was the largest number of fledglings since management started in 2001.

In 2005 we continued with the management of the WSP population at Coal Oil Point Reserve as in previous year. I addition, we started a predator management program and raised chicks from destroyed or abandoned nests. 30 chicks were fledged by their fathers and another 17 were fledged in our hand-raising nursery. 2005 was a year of high predation by skunks, but the plovers re-nested for a third time and were able to successfully raise chicks after we trapped skunks and reduced access of skunks to the beach.

In 2009 we continued with the monitoring of the WSP population at Coal Oil Point Reserve as in previous years. We were able to estimate chicks until fledged age. This year we had predator control during most of the breeding season. The predator control focused on trapping skunks in the nesting habitat. Another highlight of 2009 was the sucessfull use of the Devereux Slough mudflats as nesting area. This has happened before but not in significant numbers. 2009 had the best fledgling rate of all years so far.

In 2010 we continued with the monitoring of the WSP population at Coal Oil Point Reserve as in previous years. We estimated chicks until fledged age. We had predator control during most of the breeding season and the loss of nests from skunk predation was greatly reduced. However chick predation from unknown predators was higher than normal. The beach was the narrowest we have observed during the breeding since 2001.

In 2020, we continued with the monitoring of the Western Snowy Plover (WSP) population at Coal Oil Point Reserve as in previous years. The number of breeding adults this year (51) was higher than the average (36) for our site. The wintering population size (34) was the lowest on record since monitoring began at COPR in 2001. This year, one fifth of all nests were washed out by high tides. Wind and predation by crows also had a large impact on the fate of nests and chicks. In early April, we implemented the use of predator exclosures to prevent further predation of nests by crows. While COPR had a higher than average hatching rate (55%), predation on chicks by gulls and crows resulted in a low fledging rate of 38%. The number of fledged chicks per male (0.9) was less than half the average for our site. 91% of nests (69) were initiated on the beach, and 9% (7) were initiated on the mudflats of the slough (delta).

In 2019, we continued with the monitoring of the Western Snowy Plover (WSP) population at Coal Oil Point Reserve as in previous years. The number of breeding adults (68) was the highest observed since monitoring began in 2001. The wintering population (132) was below the average for this site. This year, predation, particularly by crows, had a large impact on the fate of nests and chicks, as did high tides. The rate of fledged chicks per male (0.2) was the lowest on record for our site since the program began in 2001. 96% of nests (93) were initiated on the beach, and 4% (4) were initiated on the mudflats of theslough (delta).

In 2021, we continued with the monitoring of the Western Snowy Plover (WSP) population at Coal OilPoint Reserve as in previous years. The number of breeding adults this year (56) was higher than theaverage (37) for our site. The wintering population size (175) was just over the average (167). This year,predation was the primary cause of nest failure. There were three cases of take by people on Sands Beach. The eggs from 3 nests were removed and in 2 of the nests that had exclosures, the exclosure wasremoved and vandalized. Implementation of Australian crow traps this year prevented crow predation.However, one quarter of all nests were predated by skunks and an additional 8% were lost to unknownpredators. In response to the high levels of predation by skunks, all nests present on or laid after July 13thwere collected, incubated until near the hatching date, and then returned to the parents. The real eggswere replaced with wooden eggs so that the parents would continue incubating. COPR had a lower thanaverage hatching rate (35%) and a high fledging rate (72%) (this analysis excludes the 8 out of 8 neststhat hatched with the egg replacement technique). The number of fledged chicks per male (1.5) was belowaverage for our site but exceeded our site's recovery goal of 1.0 fledged chicks per male. 99% of nests(92) were initiated on the beach, and 1% (1) were initiated on the mudflats of the slough (delta).