Wildlife & HabitatWillapa National Wildlife Refuge preserves a number of unique ecosystems including salt marshes, muddy tideflats, rain drenched old growth forests, and dynamic coastal dunes and beaches. Freshwater marshes and grasslands are found along the southern shore of Willapa Bay. Visitors to the Refuge can enjoy viewing a wide variety of wildlife.
Roosevelt elk, black bear, shorebirds, and spawning salmon are just
a few of the many species that reside on the Refuge. The refuge
is home to several endangered and threatened species including the
snowy plover, marbled murrelets, and brown pelican. Other birds
that are commonly spotted throughout the refuge include bald eagles,
great blue herons, peregrine falcons, red-tailed hawks, marsh wrens,
and golden-crowned kinglets.
Western Snowy Plover
The western snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus)
is a small shorebird distinguished from other plovers (family Charadriidae)
by its small size, pale brown upper parts, dark patches on either
side of the upper breast, and dark gray to blackish legs. Snowy
plovers weigh between 1.2 and 2 ounces. They are about 5.9 to 6.6
inches long. During the breeding season (March through September),
plovers can be seen nesting along the shores, peninsulas, offshore
islands, bays, estuaries, and rivers of the United States' Pacific
Coast. Plover nests usually contains three tiny eggs, which are
camouflaged to look like sand and barely visible to even the most
well-trained trained eye. Plovers will use most anything they can
find on the beach to make their nests, including kelp, shells, driftwood,
rocks, & even human footprints. Energy is very important to this small bird. Every time humans,
dogs, or other predators cause the birds to take flight or run away,
they lose precious energy that is needed to maintain their nests.
Often, when a Plover parent is disturbed, it will abandon its nest,
which increases the chance of a predator finding the eggs, sand
blowing over and covering the nest, or the eggs getting cold. This
can decrease the number of chicks that hatch in a particular year.
Did you know that a kite flying overhead looks like a predator to
a plover? A kite over a nesting area can keep an adult off the nest
for long periods of time. The Western snowy plover has been living
on the Pacific Coast for thousands of years, but was listed by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as threatened in 1993, due to low
population and decreased habitat. Marbled Murrlet Nesting high up in the old-growth conifers of the Pacific Coast,
these enigmatic little seabirds were one of the last North American
birds to have their nests discovered. Marbled Murrelets are strongly
tied to a narrow strip of land and water along the West Coast, usually
nesting within 30 miles of the ocean and foraging at sea within
three miles of the coastline. These birds face a powerful triumvirate
of threats--logging, gill-net mortality, and oil spills--and have
experienced dramatic recent population declines. For more information, please go to US Fish & Wildlife species report. Species Lists |