A medium-sized shorebird of coastal beaches, the Black-bellied Plover is striking in its black-and-white breeding plumage. It is 10-13 inches in length with a wingspan of 24 inches. It has long legs, a short, pointed black bill, a round head and, a white wing stripe that is visible when it is in flight. It is the only American plover with a hind toe on its foot. Its wings extend beyond its tail when they are folded. It has a brown, black, and gray back; a white rump and belly; and a grayish-brown breast. During breeding season, its breast, face, throat, and belly are black, and it has a white stripe running from its forehead down the back and sides of its neck. Males and females look similar, but the male is more brightly colored.

I first encountered this particular shorebird in the fall of 2015 while photographing Black Turnstones and Dunlin at Whiffen Spit near Sooke, BC.  The Plovers were foraging for invertebrates in flotsam deposited along a rocky intertidal shoreline, and didn’t seem to mind intermingling with the other two species.
 
Since that first encounter I’ve been determined to observe and photograph this bird in its very distinctive black and white breeding plumage. Non-breeding condition plumage is rather dull and includes diffused streaks to the upper breast, whitish under-parts and white-edged dark-centered brownish feathers on the back.

Following several unsuccessful attempts at a number of different locations, I finally located a small group of males & females foraging in the early morning on a fog-shrouded beach. Despite working in less than ideal lighting conditions I managed to capture several acceptable images of the birds displaying typical plover style feeding behavior; i.e. running, pausing and plucking small invertebrates.

I hope you find the images and information included with this post interesting and informative, and please don’t hesitate to leave comments and/or share this blog post.
 
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Species: Pluvialis squatarola
 
The Black-bellied Plover is the largest and most common of the three North American plovers. Its preference for open feeding habitats (lower coastal intertidal zones) its bulky structure, and very upright stance make it a fairly conspicuous species. They can generally be observed wadding in shallow water but usually do most of their foraging in exposed muddy substrates within the lower to mid intertidal zones.  
 
Feeding: Primarily forages along coasts in typical plover style: run, pause, and pluck; feeds on insects, worms, bivalves and crustaceans.
 
Occurrence: Breeds in High Arctic habitats from western Russia across the Bearing Sea to Alaska, and east to Baffin Island. Winters primarily in coastal areas from southern Canada and US, south to southern South America. Found inland during migration. Migrates south all the way to South America.
(Taken from Birds of Canada-David M Bird, Ph.D. First Edition 2010)

NOTE: Click here for a link to an excellent short audio about Black-bellied Plovers with recordings of the birds vocalizing.

My interest in observing and photographing shorebirds is two fold: first living on Vancouver Island I have relatively easy access to both coastal and inland habitats. Secondly many of the locations are located within the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds. Additionally I have always been interested in animal behaviour, and shorebirds provide many unique opportunities to observe and photograph social behaviors under breeding and non-breeding conditions.

Furthermore Shorebirds represent excellent subjects because some species are resident and sedentary year round, while others undertake phenomenal migrations each year. The ecology of many species also includes using several different types of habitats throughout the year, including high mountain areas, swamps, muddy, rocky or sandy seacoasts. This wide geographic and ecological scope also results in a great diversity of social systems and behaviours (see Miller 1984, Communication in Breeding Shorebirds pg 169-241).

Shorelines and edges of lakes, rivers, marshes, beaches, mudflats and coastal rocky intertidal zones can be very productive birding areas fore shorebirds and waders. These birds vary widely in size, shape and color and include species such as plovers, sandpipers, egrets, herons, ibises, cranes, flamingos, bitterns and spoonbills amongst others.

A majority of my encounters with shorebirds have occurred on the pacific west coast of Canada & the US. Generally many shorebirds spend considerable periods of time foraging within 4-10ft (?-2m) of the high-tide line along rocky intertidal shores. As with most ecological transition zones, these areas tend to have higher biodiversity and biomass than either the upland or shallow littoral areas along shorelines. Considering the importance of conserving their energy, particularly on long migrations, it’s not surprising these areas are so often frequented by shorebirds. My observations suggest this also holds true for shorebirds commonly found in freshwater and wetland habitats.

Surfbird
 
Order: Charadiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Species: Aphriza virgate
 
A bird with a dual lifestyle, the chunky, stubby-billed Surfbird breeds in the high mountain tundra of Alaska and the Yukon, and then migrates to the rocky Pacific coasts of both North and South America. Some individuals have been reported to migrate as far as southern Chile, a round trip of over 19,000 miles (30,500km) each year. This extremely large migratory range is amongst the largest of all North American shorebirds. With the exception of breeding seasons, Surfbirds spend a majority of their lives along rocky intertidal shores.

VOICE: Flight call is a soft whiff-if-fi; feeding flocks soft, chattering whik; display call is a kree, kree … ki-drr ki-drr, and quoy quoy quoy.
FLIGHT: Flight is swift and direct, with strong, powerful wing beats.
NESTING: Shallow lined depressions on vegetated or bare ground; 4 eggs; 1 brood; MAY-JUNE.
FEEDING: Eat mainly insects, especially beetles; also aquatic mollusks and crustaceans, such as mussels and barnacles.
OCCURRENCE: Except when breeding, Surfbirds spend their lives along rocky intertidal shores. Breeds in low to high-elevation steep, rocky slopes of ridges and mountains; the rest of the year is spent exclusively on rocky Pacific coastlines, typically within 6-1/2ft (2m) of the high tide line. This is the narrowest range of all North American shorebirds.

The two images below illustrate territorial behavior between a group of Surfbirds and an intruding Black Turnstone.

(Taken from Birds of Canada-David M Bird, Ph.D. First Edition 2010)
 
NOTE: I hope you enjoyed and found this post interesting and informative. Please leave your feedback comments, as I would like to make posts one of this type a regular feature on the web site. Thank you.

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to photograph a Anna's Hummingbird brooding and feeding her young. It soon became apparent that my initial attempts were causing the adult to remain away from her nest for extended periods of time. I also discovered that the EOS app. for taking wireless remote control of my cameras functions was not compatible with my  EOS 7D & EOS 1D Mk IV camera bodies. 

Following some research on the internet I discovered a very useful product called WEYE FEYE available from a US company called XSORIES. Click Link XSORIES.  

The Weye Feye is an innovative external device that enables remote and wireless control of a DSLR camera via a smartphone/tablet application. The device generates its own WiFi network and connects to the DSLR via a USB port. It is compatible with most Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras. The App is available as a free download for Android and iOS. 

The high-performance central processing unit and long-life battery ensures its self-sufficient operation.  A LiveView function and the built-in web server allow you to edit the images, transfer them to your mobile device and share them instantly on social networks. The device lists for $149 US, however I purchased mine from a local London Drugs for just under $200 Cdn.   

There are some informative reviews on YouTube and Photographylife: Click the link below to access the review on  Photographylife

  

Later in the week I  observed the adults feeding the young either partially in the cavity with lower body sticking out or with the entire body remaining outside of the cavity (see image above).  

Additional observation during the week included the following:

• adult birds have been vocalizing at a distance, presumably as they are foraging for food items;
• upon arriving for a feeding event they are perching on a tree near the nest tree for periods of up to 5-10 minutes, preening and bobbing their heads as if inspecting the tree for additional food items.
• Occasional drumming on a near by tree has also been occurring before a silent arrival is completed.

Young are being fed by adults regurgitating food and the food items are reported to consist of primarily invertebrates. They are now being feed while peering out the cavity entrance, giving repetitive yuk calls with raised crest, and rasping loudly while jabbing at the parents bill. The young beg to be fed and vocalize throughout the entire feeding interval. They then generally remain at the entrance for up to 2 minutes before disappearing back into the nest cavity.  They are also giving a churring sound and a new adult-type vocalization sounding like a-nah. I have also begun hearing an occasional cuk sounding, suggesting the young are approaching 16-19 days old. 

The image below is of the adult male regurgitating food prior to feeding the young juvenile. Notice the extremely long tongue.

As illustrated in the image below the parents are feeding 3 healthy juveniles, and it appears there are 2 males and 1 female.

Their Their appearance at the entrance confirms they can now climb up the sides of the cavity. According to other researchers this behavior has been observed as early as days 11–13 and is well established by days 16–19. Towards the end of the week the young were being fed about every 60 – 90 minutes, and all feeding activity is occurring at the cavity entrance. Feeding intervals will apparently increase to every 2 hours next week. Young are being fed by adults regurgitating food items and then inserting their bills into the throat of the young. Food items are reported to consist mostly of invertebrates (grubs beetles insects). Adults are also vocalizing from a distance prior to arriving and again after leaving the nest tree. 

I've included the two images above to illustrate how quickly the juveniles are developing. The first image was taken on May 15th. The 2nd image was taken on Wednesday May 20; i.e. Week #7 

Week #7 (May 17-23) In addition to taking more still images I also plan to shoot some video of the juveniles being feed. 

Anticipate observing the following behaviors this week:

• Parents will cease removing fecal sacs 2-5 days before the young fledge;
• Juveniles vocalizing, flexing their wings, and teetering on the rim of the nest cavity prior to actually leaving the nest.
  
• The young fledging and leaving the nest tree.

It will be sad to see them go but I've had a great time watching, documenting and photographing this whole process. I still find it amazing that they chose to nest within 2 meters of the hiking trail. However the remnants of three older nest cavities suggests the birds are quite at ease with the human activities (including barking dogs) occurring below them. Check back next week for a complete summary of Week#7, and hopefully some interesting video. 

Spent 3 days last month (October) at the Adams River photographing the annual Sockeye salmon run. This year is the pre-dominant year so the returning numbers were low compared to those expected next year. Managed to get some images however the primary purpose for the trip was to do some reconnaissance in preparation for next years dominant run. A million fish are expected to make the 72 hour transit from the coast, and the river apparently turns red with spawning salmon. Really looking forward to this adventure.