DWH NRDA Piping Plover Subsite Visitation

This dataset includes the information collected during re-sighting of banded piping plovers at various geographical locations along Gulf of Mexico shorelines. It includes degree of oiling information for re-sighted banded plovers and notes on oil cleanup activities occurring at the plover habitat sites. Data collection for the Piping Plover Subsite Visitation effort occurred from the fall of 2010 through the spring of 2011. Data were collected primarily by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) personnel under the direction of the Department of the Interior (DOI). Assessments focused on documenting the abundance and extent of oiling of piping plovers, and documenting all banded piping plovers in reference and spill-impacted coastal sites along the northern Gulf of Mexico. Additional information collected during these surveys includes trapping information, GPS data, and photographs. The four primary goals of this study were to evaluate over-winter survival at oiled and unoiled areas in 2010, to evaluate winter population abundance and distribution in the area of potential impact (as compared to reference areas) through April 2011, to evaluate oiling of piping plovers in the impact area in 2010/2011, and to re-sight piping plovers at their winter breeding grounds. Additional details on the surveys and results are provided in the End of Study Report (Determining Injury to the Piping Plover from the Deepwater Horizon (MC 252) Oil Spill: Bird Study #7, 2011).