One of the shorebird species I am able to see in Utah during migration that I photographed often while I lived in Florida are the lovely Black-bellied Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola).
Black-bellied Plovers at the largest of the North American plovers and according to my iBird Pro app they are also the only American plover that as a hind toe on its foot, that hind toe is often too small to be seen on the field. I looked through my images and found one that shows the hind toe on both feet here. Thanks to the iBird Pro app I learned something new today!
I was able to get much closer to Black-bellied Plovers in Florida than I have been able to yet in Utah but hopefully I will get more opportunities to get “down & dirty” with them here.
The Black-bellied Plover (almost in breeding plumage) in the image above approached me rather closely while I laid on the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico, I’ve often wondered if it saw its reflection in the glass of my lens and wanted to check it out. A mystery I will never solve.
Mia McPherson, OntheWingPhotography.com
Mia McPherson
Mia McPherson is a nature lover, wildlife watcher and an avian photographer. Mia first become serious about bird photography when she moved to Florida in 2004. Her recent move to the Salt Lake area of Utah was a great opportunity to continue observing their behavior and photographing them. With so many birds species there easily accessible it wasn’t long before she was hooked. By learning more about each species, she can anticipate their behaviour and create opportunities to obtain ever better images of those species.
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