In January, approximately 70 volunteers counted wintering Piping Plovers throughout coastal Texas, from Sabine Pass to the Rio Grande River, for the 1996 International Piping Plover Census. A total of 1333 Piping Plovers were counted in Texas during the census period and volunteers covered over 800 miles by boat, car, truck, ATV, bicycle and foot. The census took place between the 14th and the 25th of January, with most counts occurring between the 15th and the 21st. The weather and tides were not particularly cooperative for the count this year. Strong winds prevented several areas requiring airboat surveys from being counted during this census. Extremely low tides were cited by several of the observers as negatively affecting census results. Plovers had extensive areas of exposed flats available to them during these low tides, and census efforts were not able to adequately cover all of the available habitat. In addition, projects in progress in 1991 that then contributed to a thorough coverage, especially in Matagorda County, had been completed and so were unable to make similar contributions in 1996. In comparison, 1905 Piping Plovers were tallied for Texas during the 1991 International Census. Of the total plovers seen during the 1996 census, only 56 were seen on beaches, even though more than 95% of the beachfront from Sabine Pass to the Rio Grande was covered. Again, low tides probably contributed to the lack of plovers on the beach, since extensive flats were available in the bays. High counts were recorded for Cameron and Aransas Counties with 529 and 274 plovers, respectively.

The results from the 1996 census do not adequately reflect the status of the wintering population in Texas. To say that the results indicate a 30% reduction in plovers in Texas relative to 1991 census results is unrealistic. Coverage was not complete. Of particular importance was the lack of coverage on the bayside of Matagorda Island and Matagorda Peninsula. In addition, bayside habitats of North Padre Island in Willacy and southern Kenedy Counties were not covered as they were in 1991. Low tides, as cited by several observers, made adequate census of available habitats difficult. Due to these seasonally low tides, many tidal flats were exposed that would not normally be available to foraging plovers under normal tidal conditions. Expansive areas of available habitat on the bayside may have reduced the numbers of plovers seen on beaches during the survey. Also, the extensive nature of exposed flats made adequate coverage infeasible.

A map depicting the results is provided. Every USGS 7 1/2' quadrangle that received any census effort is outlined. This may be somewhat misleading since even if a small corner of a quadrangle received some census effort it is counted as censused and therefore outlined on the map. In addition to providing a rough thematic map of plover occurrence during the census, it also provides some indication of where the census was carried out, but where no plovers were observed. Table 1 provides a comparison of coverage and results between 1991 and 1996.