Western Snowy Plover
Audubon Mural
Photo credit: Raphael Delgado
Text credit: Audubon Magazine
This pair of Western Snowy Plovers are an outsize presence on The Nature Conservancy’s building in downtown Sacramento. The first Audubon Mural Project installation in California’s capital, the mural was commissioned by Audubon California and Wide Open Walls. This project joins a national network of murals that Endangered Species Coalition partners created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. The landmark environmental law provides crucial protection to animals like the Western Snowy Plover. Since first protected in 1993, this species’ population along the Pacific Coast has begun to tentatively rebound.
About the Western Snowy Plover:
A small, plump shorebird, the Western Snowy Plover nests along shorelines and on beaches where its buff coloration helps provide camouflage. Even so, the birds are highly vulnerable. Development and invasive species have eaten away at Snowy Plover habitat. Sea-level rise caused by climate change threatens to erode it further. And, of course, human activity and dogs can also easily scare the birds from their nests.
These disturbances not only jeopardize the safety of eggs and chicks but they also interrupt the birds’ ability to feed and rest. All of which impacts the birds’ overall well-being. In order to give the plovers their best chance at survival, a network of Audubon volunteers strives to restore habitat, monitor nesting sites, and spread the message to “share the shore.”
About the Artist:
Jonathan Martinez is dedicated to painting wildlife exclusively. With every piece, he celebrates the natural world and calls on us to protect it. Known as “Art of Endangered,” Martinez’ artistic journey began 10 years ago. Since that time, he has stayed true to what has become his signature style: vibrant colors that seem to move, envelop and uplift the beauty of the wildlife he paints. Martinez paints in a variety of mediums. From small acrylic paintings and mixed- media drawings, to large-scale spray- painted murals
Finding the Mural
830 S Street, Sacramento, CA 95811