George Cummins

Coastal Ecologist

I am a coastal ecologist with Point Blue’s Pacific Coast and Central Valley Group, focusing on western snowy plover conservation and ecology. In addition to researching and monitoring the snowy plover population in the Monterey Bay, we aim to facilitate snowy plover success through partnerships with coastal land managers.

I grew up largely in eastern North Carolina, although I also have roots across Virginia. I followed my childhood passion for wildlife and completed my bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Science at Virginia Tech. During my time at Tech, and in the years following, I was fortunate to carry out field work across the globe, mostly working with breeding birds of all sorts. Eventually I ended up in Hawai`i, where I conducted my master’s research on parental behaviors of Hawaiian forest birds while attending Northern Arizona University. After graduate school I spent several years working on various avian and bat projects in the southwestern US before joining Point Blue in 2022.

I work in the Monterey Bay area and can generally be found wandering beaches in search of snowy plovers and their nests. If I’m not in the field or working from my home office, you can usually find me birding, mountain biking, enjoying the ocean, or playing board games.

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