Wilson's Plover

Organisms / Vertebrates / Birds

Charadrius wilsonia

Camp Lulu Key (Rookery Bay Wildlife Refuge; 25.834N, 81.509W)

March 16, 2008

Photograph by Andre Moncrieff

Descriptive Information

Field Marks: Large black bill, when compared to other plovers such as the Piping Plover or Semipalmated Plover.
Size: Length 7.75 inches, wingspan 19 inches, weight 2.1 ounces (60 grams).
General Habitat: Rocky and sandy coastlines.
Range: In the U.S., it can be found year-round on the Texas and Florida coast. During the summer, it expands its range to include all of the Gulf Coast, and the Atlantic Coast up to New Jersey.

Field Observations
Found in a mixed flock of Dunlin, Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones, Willets, Western Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers, and Black-bellied Plovers, in the early evening. It was observed on the northwest spur of Camp Lulu Key, as the tide was coming in. When we first walked to the spur the bird flew up along the spur; when we came back later with a camera we found it standing motionless at the base of it. We thought perhaps it was just wary of us walking up, because it stood frozen for several minutes. Then suddenly it darted and grabbed a crab from the sand. The patch of sand where the bird was hunting was a place riddled with the burrows of sand-balling crabs. The bird actually did not seem to be disturbed by our presence, even though we were within 20 feet of the bird. Having eaten the crab, it again stood still, head raised, looking for prey. Andre finished his photo shoot and moved away to study the other shorebirds, and Libby watched the plover repeat its hunting procedure several times. The bird would stand in one position for minutes at a time, then make a quick run after prey. Sometimes it ran for approximately 3 feet after prey, but was rarely successful in these attempts. Usually it caught prey when the crab or other animal popped up close, so the plover just had to make a quick jab to seize its prey. Twice it took the crab or whatever it had caught down to the edge of the water, dipping it in the water before swallowing it. Even though the bird was foraging on the same sand spit as the large flock of other shorebirds, it didn’t associate closely with them: it hunted apart from them and didn’t fly off when flocks of the other birds left the spit. We watched it forage for around an hour, and then it flew towards the end of the sandbar.

References
Sibley, David Allen. National Audubon Society: The Sibley Guide to Birds. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.

Additional Photographs/Videos
Head-on
Side view
Sand spur

Page developed by Andre Moncrieff and Libby Megna