Half Moon Bay State Beach is well known for a rare colony of western snowy plovers. The bird is small and blends into pale sand in shades of tan, brown and black, with white underparts and a white collar. It is listed as Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Human activity, habitat loss and predation are the main reasons for its decline. A federal recovery plan was approved in 2007, and recovery work and monitoring continue. The species was first described by the American ornithologist John Cassin in 1858.
Its pale coloring is why it is easy to overlook on a sandy beach.
More on this site: the beaches