Semipalmated Plover

Do you ever wonder who those endlessly darting, stopping, and prodding little birds are who frequent our shores? They arrive with the first stirrings of spring, and after a long journey from their wintering grounds as far south as Argentina are ready to feast on small aquatic insects and worms.

Welcome to Field Notes, I’m Michaela Speirs, a Volunteer with the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge.

Here in southwest Alaska we are very likely to see the Semipalmated Plover, with its brown back, single dark breastband, short orange bill tipped with black, and bright yellow-orange legs. Many shorebirds display this pattern of light and dark coloring which reduces contrast and breaks up their outline against a background of beach or rock, a strategy used to avoid detection. Plover is from the Latin word for rain, pluvia, while semipalmated refers to the partially webbed foot of the plover.

Plovers roam open beach and mud flats in search of food, often running with their heads held high and using a stabbing motion to snatch prey off the surface. If you watch closely you may notice a plover extending its foot forward in order to vibrate the surface of the sand - this is to detect any invertebrates. Plovers hunt by sight and alone, where the pattering feet of a flock will not warn sensitive prey to withdraw into their burrows.

If you come across a shallow nest in sand or gravel and see 4 small eggs it may very likely belong to the Semipalmated Plover. However it is more likely that you will be alerted to a nest by the plover’s threat call, a series of rapidly descending notes.

Other Plovers to look out for in our area are the Black-bellied Plover, Pacific Golden Plover, and American Golden-Plover. For Filed Notes, I’m Michaela Speirs.