The two best bird photos of the day are the plovers shown below. Although they are both plovers, they are extremely different in a number of ways besides just looks.
This Black-bellied Plover is an adult, shown still in its breeding plumage. Its passing through on it's migration route from breeding grounds far to the north in the arctic, and probably heading further south for the winter. It's an easy bird to spot at 11-13 inches in size with its highly contrasting colors, which it seems to carry in a regal way.
This is a juvenile Western Snowy Plover, born this summer close by and probably will stay in the area and breed and raise its young here. Snowys are half the size and are hard to spot because at a moments notice they will squat down in a depression hiding their white undersides with only the top sandy-side showing. They have a rather dumpy look to their posture in comparison to the Black-bellied Plover.
I noticed that the Snowy Plover chick has a leg band. Who does the banding and when?
ReplyDeleteGood eyes MaryLou. The chick actually has bands on both legs. We have 2 guys that are Nest Monitors who work through a cooperative effort with Portland State University. They start the season locating nests, and then return to the nest site when the chicks are born to band them.
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