Every year, biologists, volunteers and conservationists from Washington State to San Diego, California, come together for one purpose: to count a tiny bird the size of a sparrow, the western snowy plover. The numbers tell a compelling story. Back in 2023, the count revealed just 2,336 snowy plovers. In 2024, that number rose to 2,676. And in 2025, the most recent survey, the count reached 3,018 — breaking 3,000 for the first time since the recovery plan was developed.
Photos below: Micah Ashford/USFWS
