ML103303861

Age and sex

Adult Male - X

Observation details

Unexpected in Barrow, possibly two individuals. A nearly completely molted male with golden-speckled upperparts and black underparts. White stripe of forehead continued down the face, through the neck, and into the flanks on either side of the body (some black was evident within stripe, but quite obvious for the most part). White eye stripe nearly perfect horizontal and then dropping sharply downward (unlike American). Lacked the obvious "bulge" at the breast expected for American Golden-Plover (which is a regular breeding species here). Legs appeared somewhat longer than that of an American Golden-Plover, and the bill seemed somewhat shorter and thicker. A grayish "window" was visible in the wing. When seen through a spotting scope, the relatively short Primary Projection (three primaries) was evident. Speckled undertail coverts (white with some black specks). Initially found by Ben who also had a second possible PGPL fly overhead (and vocalize). The bird was not terribly wary and was seen poking around the tundra to the east of the water tower.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 40D

ISO

400

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/2000 sec

Dimensions

729 pixels x 486 pixels

Original file size

145 KB