Among the thousands of shorebirds and seabirds at Whitney Beach (on Longboat Key) this morning, there were two semi-palmated plovers, at opposite ends of the strand. I thus felt obliged to acknowledge their presence in a blog post.
Though more often seen in flocks during migration, this morning's loners are on their way to northern Canada or Alaska, where they breed. Unlike many of their cousins, semi-palmated plovers prefer to nest and feed on graveled islands and sandbars in meandering Arctic rivers; their diet consists of insects, worms and other invertebrates.
These plovers winter along the coasts of North and South America; they migrate a bit later in spring than most shorebirds and may still be encountered in the American Heartland through early May. Perhaps our paths will cross again.
