You’ve probably heard of them, but have you actually seen a western snowy plover? They are masters of disguise. With their sand-colored feathers, speckled eggs and chicks they blend in perfectly to their beach and dune environment. Despite this clever camouflage, snowy plovers are a threatened species due to habitat loss, predation, and human-caused disturbance.

Join local State Park biologist Alison Cebula for a presentation on the lives of these remarkable little shorebirds and the challenges they face. Learn not only how to tell a plover from a sanderling, but also how you can help protect one of our most charming wild neighbors.

Alison grew up in Fort Bragg and studied coastal ecology and natural history with Teresa Sholars and Greg Grantham at College of the Redwoods. Her adventures in field biology include habitat restoration at the Grand Canyon, reintroduction of Aplomado falcons in Texas with the Peregrine Fund, raptor migration counts and nest surveys for HawkWatch International, ecosystem monitoring with the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Project, and volunteering for the Winter Wolf Study at Yellowstone National Park.

 For the past 12 years her passion for conservation has focused on snowy plovers. She currently coordinates the Western Snowy Plover Management Program for California State Parks Mendocino Sector.