SNPL BS:OG

This lady was the very first Snowy Plover I saw as a surveyor on the job, and amazingly, the first one I ever held in my hands. Her name is Blue-Silver-Orange-Green, but we often refer to her as B-Sog. She used to have pink tape on her federal band (the silver one with the numbers), so before it wore off she had the even cuter name of B-Pog.

She was born about 350 miles south of here, near Monterey Bay, almost seven years ago. Shortly after fledging from her father's care, she migrated to one of our beaches and has stayed ever since--an unusual move for Monterey birds, who generally settle farther south. I was on the second survey of my Ploverite career, in March of this year, when my coworkers pointed out this very bird on the beach and explained how to read her bands: top to bottom, left to right.

Then, in July, I was part of a targeted mission to catch her mate, who had not yet been marked with colored leg bands. In the process of catching him, we trapped her as well (they stick very close together in the breeding season), and I ended up being tasked with holding onto her for a few minutes. It all went well and both were released, and they remain on the beach to this day, where I observed them this morning while on a bi-monthly winter survey.