Wilson’s Plover (WIPL)

Anarhynchus wilsonia

Adult Wilson’s Plover  © Melissa James / Macaulay Library
Juvenile Wilson’s Plover © Ian Davies / Macaulay Library

Range

The Wilson’s Plover breeds along the Atlantic Coast from Virginia throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, to northwest Brazil, and on the Pacific Coast from Southern California to northern Peru.

Additional Maps

Identification

The Wilson’s Plover is a medium-sized, heavy-billed shorebird. Easy to mistake for Killdeer or Semipalmated Plover, both breeding adults and immature plovers have sandy brown upperparts with rich brown-tipped wings and tail feathers, white underparts, pale legs, and black beaks. Breeding adults have a black band around their necks whereas immature birds have a pale brown band.

Wilson’s Plovers are probing foragers and can most easily be spotted while searching for prey in salt flats or mudflats during low tide.

Wilson’s Plovers can often first be identified by their calls. A clipped peet and rich, slurred tweet are the most common. While chasing intruders they may give rattling calls, or cooing dovelike mooing calls while courting.

Listen to its songs and calls here.

Habitat

Wilson’s Plovers are found in salt flats, sandy beaches, or barrier islands. They may also occupy human-made habitats such as dredge-spoil islands. During nesting season, Wilson’s Plovers will build their nests above the high-tide mark, often near dunes. 

Wilson’s Plovers forage in muddy locations such as lagoon edges or salty sands during low tide. They can be spotted probing the wet ground for prey such as fiddler crabs for which they are specialized hunters.

When not nesting or foraging they can be found resting in small groups in areas of high beach. South American populations have also been observed using mangroves, roadways, and rock jetties for roosting.

Conservation Status 

Status by State

Threats to Conservation

Living in coastal areas makes Wilson’s Plover especially vulnerable to rising sea levels. They also share a habitat with human recreational spaces (plant-free sandy beaches), which makes them susceptible to habitat disturbance and destruction. During the breeding season, Wilson’s Plover may experience nest destruction from human activity such as intrusions on their territory by beach-going humans or domesticated animals like dogs, trampling by motorized vehicles (this primarily affects unfledged young), habitat degradation from litter and waste, or by development on prior habitat.

Funding Opportunities
General Management Guides
Regional Management Guides
Northeast
Resources
Works Cited