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Breeding Densities And Habitat Of Riparian Birds Along The Lower Rio Grande, Texas, Corinna Elizabeth Rupert

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The breeding biology of Snowy Plovers (Charadrius alexanderinus) was studied at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in coastal southern Texas. During 1995 and 1996 nests were found most often in high sand flat habitat and less frequently in low sand flat. Nest sites were dominated by open flat but had more rocks, pebbles and debris than control sites. Only 24% of the clutches hatched, while 67% were eaten by predators and 9% were flooded. Forty-three percent of Snowy Plover nests were within Least Tern (Sterna antillarum) colonies and these nests had a significantly greater chance of hatching than nests placed …