Black-bellied Plover – Ethical Birder

Clatsop Spit

December 19, 2023 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

I had the chance to visit Clatsop Spit at Fort Stevens State Park. Parking Lots C and D, the usual access points, are still compromised due to continued work on the south jetty of the Columbia. So the best place to access the beach along the Columbia River is the little road halfway in between the two parking lots. This road takes you to the access locally known as Social Security Beach.

One of the highlights of this trip was seeing many Snowy Plovers. This species just wasn’t found on the northern Oregon coast until a few years ago. It is great to see them making a comeback.

This Snowy Plover is sitting in a tire track from a large pickup that had just gone by. I really dislike that vehicles are allowed on so many beaches. Even if they are not directly squashing wildlife, they certainly disrupt and deface things. Baby Snowy Plovers have been known to get stuck in deep tire tracks.

While not threatened like the Snowy Plover, Black-bellied Plovers are always nice to see.

The Black-bellied Plovers were more wary and harder to approach than the Snowy Plovers.

This blurry photo shows the black axillaries (wing pits) of a Black-bellied Plover. This mark makes the species identifiable from a great distance.

The most common shorebird of the day was Dunlin. While they don’t sport their bold markings this time of year, the dull brownish upperparts and bright white underparts are distinctive.

A lone Dunlin following a group of Sanderlings

More Sanderlings

Of course you have to stop and appreciate the gulls this time of year. Here is a dapper pair of Herring Gulls.

Short-billed Gull, until recently called Mew Gull. Some feel that Mew Gull is a better name.

A lone California Gull stands in front of a group of Short-billed Gulls.

Probably the best bird of the trip was Snow Bunting. It is not unusual to find a few of these birds on the coast in winter, but it is hard to get them to sit still long enough for a photo.

Work on the jetty is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2025. It will be nice to have easy access to all of Clatsop Spit again.

Happy Solstice

Fort Stevens State Park

May 3, 2021 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites, seasonal movements

I went to Fort Stevens to look for shorebirds this week. The main push of spring migrants hadn’t arrived yet, but numbers were definitely on the increase. I was pleased that I timed the tide correctly at Parking Lot D. This little bay fills quickly when the tide comes in, so it was nice to have extensive mudflats on this visit.

Semipalmated Plovers enjoying the mud

Caspian Tern duo small This spot often hosts good numbers of Caspian Terns. Several birds were seen courting.

Black-bellied Plover small Of the six Black-bellied Plovers I saw that day, only one was in full breeding plumage. The others, including this bird, were still in molt.

Whimbrel duo small The beach hosted good numbers of Whimbrels.

whimbrel small

Sanderling small The most common shorebird on the beach that day was Sanderling. Most were still in winter plumage.

Sanderling duo small

Sanderling flock small

Shorebird migration should peak within the next week.

Happy Spring.

Hudsonian Godwit

September 25, 2018September 25, 2018 by John Rakestraw, posted in rarities

hugo and bbpl
A Hudsonian Godwit has been hanging out at Fort Stevens for over a week now. This species, seen here with a Black-bellied Plover, normally migrates through the central part of the continent so an appearance on the west coast is a rare treat.

rump
Here is a glimpse of the bird’s white rump, one feature that helps separate it from the expected Marbled Godwits. Other differences include the gray-brown coloration, dark underwings, bold wing stripe, and obvious pale supercilium.

Note how much yellow is present on one of these Black-bellied Plovers. This is apparently quite common on young Black-bellieds, but this is the first year I have seen it. These birds can be mistaken for American or Pacific Golden-Plovers at first glance, but the bulkier shape, thick bills, and different calls all point to Black-bellied Plover.

Other birds sharing the beach with the godwit and plovers included Sanderlings,

a Dunlin,

wesp 3
and Western Sandpipers. Notice the tiny bill on this individual, suggesting that the bird is a male.

Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, and Dunlin

Happy Shorebirding!

Spring on the Coast

May 19, 2017May 19, 2017 by John Rakestraw, posted in seasonal movements

I have made four trips to the Oregon Coast in as many weeks this spring. For three of the four, I was leading groups. That, combined with rainy weather, limited my photo opportunities, but here are a few shots. The big news on the coast this spring was a Laughing Gull and at least four Bar-tailed Godwits. I missed these birds, but as I like to tell myself, there is always something to see.

Rainy skies at Ft. Stevens. The wreck of the Peter Iredale is visible in the center of the photo.

Harbor Seals enjoying the sunshine in Netarts Bay.

It was fun to see this Red-breasted Merganser hauled out on a rock at the Netarts boat launch. I don’t see them out of the water very often.

Belted Kingfisher, Netarts boat launch

Surf Scoter, Yaquina Bay

Common Loon, still in winter plumage, Yaquina Bay

Harlequin Ducks on Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach

former whale, Ft. Stevens

Sanderling have been one of the more common migrants along the coast this spring.
Sanderling, Ft. Stevens

Whimbrel with a Mole Crab, Ft. Stevens

Black-bellied Plover, with a Sanderling in the background

Black-bellied Plover, still in mostly non-breeding plumage. Such faded birds often show some brown coloring, which fosters ideas of Pacific Golden-Plover. But eventually the birds raise their wings to reveal black axillaries (wing pits), and confirm the Black-bellied ID.

Pacific City

May 6, 2016May 8, 2016 by John Rakestraw, posted in behavior, seasonal movements

I led the Three Capes Tour for the Birding and Blues Festival last weekend. Spring migration had not quite kicked into high gear, but there were some nice birds around. This is one of two Black-bellied Plovers we saw on the beach the day before the tour. They were losing their dull winter plumage and growing in some crisp black and white feathers.

Black-bellied Plover with a Mole Crab

Black-bellied Plover tracks

At Whalen Island, this Dark-eyed Junco and Purple Finch were sharing a treetop.

These Long-billed Dowitchers were some of the few shorebirds we saw on the tour. Most shorebirds were migrating well off-shore that day.

This patch of Red-hot Poker at the Whiskey Creek Fish Hatchery always seems to attract good birds. This year it was a pair of Downy Woodpeckers.

This Barn Swallow sat and posed for us for quite a while.

Bayocean Spit

October 13, 2012 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites

I spent the last day of the dry season walking Bayocean Spit on Tillamook Bay (Birding Oregon p. 128). On a day trip from Portland, it is tempting to try to cover all the hotspots around the bay, but spending the day exploring Bayocean Spit provides access to all the major habitats of the area along with a nice hike.

Although the shorebird migration is winding down, there were still some birds on the bay side of the spit. Black-bellied Plovers were the most obvious and vocal, joined by Western Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers, a Semipalmated Plover, and the first Dunlin of the season.

Brown Pelican near the jetty at the mouth of the bay

The ocean side of Bayocean Spit usually has far fewer birds than the bay side, but it is a nice stretch of secluded beach.

Judging from the size, I am guessing these shorebird tracks were from a Black-bellied Plover.

After walking on the beach a while, I cut across the wooded section of the spit to return to the bay side.

The woods on the spit attract a nice variety of songbirds, including Fox Sparrows, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, both kinglets, and Wrentits.

This Townsend’s Chipmunk was busy eating these little red fruits.

Bayocean Spit

September 8, 2010 by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites

It had been a while since I had walked all the way around Bayocean Spit (Birding Oregon p. 128). This is a great walk which takes about four hours, assuming you stop and look at birds along the way.

This morning was one of those misty gray days when the sky blends into the ocean. The fog and drizzle make photography rather difficult, giving everything a blurry grainy look. The dark line on the horizon is the south jetty. The crane in the distance is working on the end of the north jetty.

Shorebirds were few and far between this day. This is an adult Black-bellied Plover.

Western Gulls

California Gulls

The rocks of the jetty are home to many Ochre Sea Stars.

Brown Pelicans are constantly being harassed by other birds, especially Heerman’s Gulls, which make their living stealing fish from the pelicans. In this photo we see a young Western Gull, three Heerman’s Gulls, a Glaucous-winged Gull, and a Pelagic Cormorant, all hoping the Brown Pelican drops his fish. Notice the Heerman’s Gull hanging on to the pelican’s feet.

Brown Pelican with his posse.

The woods and brushy areas on Bayocean Spit are home to Wrentits. These birds tend to remain hidden in heavy cover, but their loud and unique vocalizations are heard throughout the year. This bird sat still just long enough for my point-and-shoot camera to get off one shot at 1/13th of a second.

Shorebirds at Grays Harbor, WA

April 28, 2009 by John Rakestraw, posted in beyond OR, identification challenges, seasonal movements

I took my shorebird class to Grays Harbor in Washington, one of the prominent staging areas for migrant shorebirds on the West Coast. The cold wet spring continues, so diversity was a little low, but there were lots of birds to see.

At Damon Point State Park, near the mouth of the bay, we found good numbers of Marbled Godwits and Short-billed Dowitchers.

At Bowerman Basin, part of Grays Harbor NWR, a long boardwalk extends along the edge of the mudflats. As the basin fills with the rising tide, the birds are pushed closer to shore for excellent views.

Here we can see a Black-bellied Plover, a couple of Semipalmated Plovers, two Caspian Terns, lots of Dunlin, and some Western Sandpipers.

Here is a closer look at the lovely Semipalmated Plovers mixed in with Western Sandpipers.

I didn’t notice the bird at the time, but when I downloaded this shot of Western Sandpipers I immediately noticed the Least Sandpiper among them. Least Sandpipers feed in a crouched position with their feet far forward. On closer inspection, you can see the tiny bill and the pale legs. (lower right corner, if you are still looking)

Here’s a closer look at the Least Sandpiper between two Westerns.