American Golden-Plover

Plovers & Pecs

It was overcast with a chance of showers in the forecast, but that was not going to keep indoors. Might as well enjoy it now before it does get miserable weather wise. On starting my walk at Boundary Bay I noticed a small group of Plovers that appeared to be resting about 300m straight out from 104 St. I usually find Black-bellied Plovers in large groups are next to impossible to get close to and usually don’t even try. A small sedate group such as this you can usually fair a little better, providing you do so slowly and down low when close.

They did let me get fairly close, too bad it was such a grey day. Of the four birds in this group, three were Black-bellied Plovers,

… the fourth an American Golden-Plover. They were comfortable with me there only for a short while before wondering off to join another half dozen Black-bellies not to far off. From here I made my toward the pilings.

Just before reaching them I located a small flock of about twenty Pectoral Sandpipers. I gave them all a good look, but still no Sharp-tailed. On scanning the beach beyond the pilings I could make out a few more large shore birds. On getting closer they turned out to be more Black-bellied Plovers and another American Golden-Plover. On talking to some other birders in the area watching the larger Plover flock, they also saw an American Golden-Plover. So there are at least two, possibly three in the area right now. Just no Pacific Golden-Plovers spotted yet. So while not a great day for photos, it never hurts being out there to see what is around and hope for better conditions tomorrow.

Peeps, Plovers & Pecs

Just in case you hadn’t noticed, shore birds have been the theme for a while now. With the migration still ongoing and the chance of locating the odd rarity, it was back out to Boundary Bay around noon to catch the rising tide. As usual my walk started from 104 St. and headed west from there.

First up this afternoon,

… was this lone Western Sandpiper.

While it is more common to find them in groups or with other birds,

… every once in a while there will be the odd man out. Not long after leaving this little fellow, another reason for coming back today.

The American Golden-Plovers were still present.

This one tucked away resting,

… and then getting up and doing a nice stretch. Notice no black armpit like the Black-bellied Plover.

The last outing where I managed some distant, but decent shots, was far too short.

Today I was able to get much closer,

… and spend more time with not one, but two birds. While photographing these birds I noticed a couple of other groups further along the beach that I decided to check out.

The first was a pair of Baird’s Sandpipers,

… that were also quite cooperative. Up next,

… was about six Pectoral Sandpipers. I wanted to check this group out for possible Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, but no such luck today.

In with them was a Least Sandpiper. While it was initially resting and facing away from me,

… it started foraging and passed by right in front of me. Then I made my way back,

… locating the American Golden-Plovers pretty much where I had left them. At this point another photographer was making his way towards me. Having had some good quality time with them already, I slowly backed out so as to not flush the birds and pointed them out to him. John thanked me for the gesture and was appreciative of the opportunity to photograph these birds. Being such wonderful day I stuck around a while longer after the high tide.

The American Pipits were still plentiful along the beach,

… but I did not spend a whole lot of time with them.

I spent more time watching the groups of Pectoral Sandpipers. They were still coming and going as the sun was going down,

… but I still could not turn one into a Sharp-tailed. None the less, a fairly productive day.

Given the wonderful weather we have been having, today’s overcast skies and cooler temperatures was a change of pace. After starting my walk at Boundary Bay it was not long before I noticed some movement just west of 104 St. At first glance I could make out some American Pipits. But on closer examination, something larger caught my eye.

It was an American Golden-Plover.

It has been about three years since I was last able to photograph one.

The American Golden-Plover will venture in closer to the dyke and away from the main flocks of Black-bellied Plovers. This can make it a little easier to get photos of one.

The American Golden-Plover is a regular, but uncommon visitor at this time of year while migrating from the arctic all the way to South America.

One of our regular plovers for this area is the Killdeer.

The Killdeer can usually be seen year round and also nests in this area. The Black-bellied Plovers were also present in large numbers today, but as usual were not going to let me get close. That is OK though, with American Golden-Plover already stealing the spotlight.