Coastal birds are joined by interior birds on the coast in winter. Although coastal and interior birds mix in winter, the coastal population of the western snowy plover is, for the most part, reproductively isolated from interior birds. Snowy plovers breed in loose colonies. Nest sites typically occur in flat, open areas with sandy or saline substrates. The majority of snowy plovers are site-faithful, returning to the same breeding site in subsequent breeding seasons.
Birds often nest in the exact same location as the previous year.
The breeding season of the coastal population of the western snowy plover extends from mid March through mid September. The usual clutch size is three eggs. Males incubate at night, females during the day. Incubation lasts about 27 days. Plover chicks are precocial, and leave the nest and nesting territory within hours after hatching to search for invertebrate foods on the beach front or in the sand dunes.