ML121509841

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

We were sorting through a large flock of Black-bellied Plovers when Jim announced that he had a Golden-Plover. The rest of us got onto it almost immediately, and very soon came comments such as "It is not very bright," "bold white supercilium," "very dark crown," and " if it's a juvenile it doesn't look like a Pacific." Suspicions soon were very strong that it was an American Golden-Plover, and photos soon confirmed the long primary extension with four primary tips exerted well beyond the tertials. The inner three tips of the four extended primaries were evenly and widely spaced, with P9 and P10 tips closer together, a feature that is said to overlap between the two species. The tertials barely reached the base of the tail, and the longest two primary tips extended well beyond the tip of the tail. The body and head lacked any apparent gold color to the plumage and were quite similar in color to the several apparent juvenile Black-bellied Plovers that were nearby and quite different from the normal bright gold color on winter-plumaged and (especially) juvenile Pacific Golden-Plovers. The bill was substantially shorter and narrower than that of the Black-bellieds and the body, head, and neck both smaller and slimmer than those of the Black-bellieds. In the photos the tibia seems quite short and the entire leg proportionally shorter compared to the Black-bellieds, but this was not noticed in the field. When the flock flushed the Golden was typically among the very last birds to leave, and each time it landed near the front of the flock, giving us multiple opportunities to see the bird in flight and note its dark uppertail coverts and rump and gray underwings, lacking any black axillars as are found in the Black-bellied Plovers. While this seems rather late in the fall for an American Golden-Plover, there is at least one other in the Central Valley, in Yolo County, at this time.

Technical information

Model

COOLPIX P900

ISO

220

Focal length

714 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/500 sec

Dimensions

4009 pixels x 3007 pixels

Original file size

1.38 MB