North Coast Diaries

Pluvialis trifecta --- Sunday, September 27, 2009

Today at the South Jetty of the Columbia, I was lucky enough to happen upon a group of three golden plovers.  I had heard a distinctive "qweedle" call and saw a single bird land.  The "qweedle" is said to be diagnostic for one of the species of golden plover that occur in the fall, but as it turns out, both species were in front of me. Here on the Oregon Coast, the more common species is PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER which tends to be more brightly yellow colored.  It also shows a less pronounce supercillium, a more obvious dark auricular patch and a shorter extention of the primaries past the tertials, usually with only three primary tips showing. AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, on the other hand, tends to be grayer, with a bold white supercillium, a paler looking head and weak auricular patch.  It shows a longer primary projection with four primary tips showing past the tertials.  It's also the species that's supposed to say "qweedle". There was also a flock of 17 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS in the area.  Black-bellies are far more common than either of the golden plover species.  They're larger, bulkier looking and very pale gray.  They have the shortest primary projection, a white rump and pale tail and when they fly, they show black axillaries.

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