In December 2021, Asociación Ambiente Sur and the Centro de Rehabilitación de Aves Leñadura (CRAL) conducted the first binational survey for the Magellanic Plover (Pluvianellus socialis), a species of shorebird that lives in Patagonia and is only found in its range of southern Argentina and southern Chile. The survey, supported by Manomet and its shorebird scientists, suggests the Magellanic Plover may be even more rare than previously thought and deserving of highly-prioritized conservation efforts.
Recent observation data and sightings hinted to biologists that the Magellanic Plover’s numbers could be less than BirdLife’s low-end estimate of 1,500 individuals. If that’s the case, that would make it one of the rarest species of shorebird in the Western Hemisphere.
Read full story on Manomet’s website.
Cover Photo: Magellanic plovers with chicks. Photo: Brad Winn.
