Snowy plover chicks released at Coal Oil Point Reserve after rehab

"I've been walking down this beach and seeing the plovers for years and years, but I've never seen a rehab release like this, so this is pretty special," Daniel Richmond of Goleta said on Tuesday.

Eleven snowy plover chicks were released this week at the Coal Oil Point Reserve in Isla Vista, an experience Richmond calls incredible.

"One of them just flew off and took a big couple of laps around the beach just to test his wings, I guess, but it looked great," he continued.

Two months before the release, these chicks were in rehab at the Santa Barbara Zoo.

Senior zoo keeper Heather Leigh says surviving from egg to adulthood is challenging.

"Sometimes they don't make it, but overall, I think we might have had four that don't make it to adulthood for one reason or another, but I'd say this year has been very successful," Leigh said.

Snowy plovers are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, which is why researchers with UC Santa Barbara, California Fish and Wildlife, and the Santa Barbara Zoo keep an eye out for abandoned nests.

"This is one of their most special days of the year — the release day — because we work really hard to save these snowy plovers that had some sort of unfortunate event like a high tide or a predator that disturbed the nest," explained Cristina Sandoval, Coal Oil Point Reserve Director.

The Coal Oil Point Reserve offers protected dunes for the plovers, helping future generations thrive.

"Several of them that have been released are already nesting here for several years," Sandoval said.

The release was part of the Reserve’s Snowy Plover Conservation Program.