American Golden Plover (Cape of Good Hope : Table Mountain National Park – Cape Point)

 

Description of the American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) 

Afrikaans: Amerikaanse Goue Strandkiewiet

BREEDING MALE

The American Golden Plover is a large, chunky shorebird with long legs and an upright posture.

– Long white patch on the sides of the neck.
– Black face, breast, belly, and undertail coverts.
– Much gold or buffy colouration on the upperparts

 

 

Female

Much like male:

– Long white patch on the sides of the neck.
– Mottled with white in the undertail coverts.
– Much gold or buffy colouration on the upperparts

Seasonal change in appearance

Fall and winter birds show much less gold or buffy tones in the upperparts and lack black in the underparts. Instead of a bold white stripe on the neck, only a white eye line is present.

Juvenile

Immatures are similar to fall adults.

Habitat

Grasslands and shorelines.

Diet

Insects, crustaceans, and berries.

Behavior

Forages by running and pecking.

 

 

 

We Raced to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve (Cape Point), hoping to capture some images of the American Golden Plover.

Monitoring reports across various media channels regarding the appearance of the American golden plover, a rare avian species to our shores, drew our attention. Located within the esteemed Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve at Cape Point, this sighting presented an opportunity not merely to add a new bird to our life list but also to capture compelling images of this captivating shorebird. Previous attempts had been thwarted by the bird’s distant presence, but with perseverance, we awaited the ideal moment.

When news broke on Saturday morning, confirming the bird’s presence as observed by Trevor Hardaker, our anticipation peaked, prompting an immediate decision to journey to Cape Point. While the location had been pinpointed based on earlier sightings, a lapse in attention to precise coordinates became evident, a lesson learned retrospectively.

Efforts to organize our expedition were meticulous, aligning schedules to seize the perfect photographic opportunity. With my wife occupied with her Kung Fu training and my son scheduled for his own session, a plan was devised to accommodate family responsibilities and our avian pursuit.

Equipped with essential gear and provisions, including cameras, binoculars, and sustenance for my son, we embarked on our journey, mindful of the considerable distance to Cape Point. Despite allowing ample time for travel, unexpected delays ensued, exacerbated by the realization of impending commitments, including my son’s demonstration at the V&A Waterfront.

Navigating through peak season traffic and acknowledging the strict entrance times at the reserve, anxiety heightened as time slipped away. Despite the setback, determination fueled our resolve to locate the elusive bird within the constrained timeframe.

Upon arrival at Platboom Beach, technical difficulties hindered our reliance on digital navigation aids, prompting recourse to traditional methods of communication. Faced with the absence of signal, frustration mounted, compelling us to rely on instinct and perseverance.

 

 

 

A chance encounter with a fellow birder provided a glimmer of hope, igniting a fervent search along the shoreline. With minutes dwindling, a palpable sense of urgency underscored our pursuit, intensified by the pressure to succeed.

Finally, a breakthrough emerged as we identified the distinctive markings of the American golden plover camouflaged among the rocks. Delight and relief washed over us as we captured the moment, marvelling at the bird’s beauty and serenity.

Reflecting on the exhilarating experience, we recognized the inherent unpredictability and challenges inherent in birdwatching, yet revelled in the triumph of overcoming obstacles.

Arriving slightly behind schedule at the Waterfront, we savoured the culmination of our adventure, eager to review our captured images and share our story with fellow enthusiasts. In recounting our journey, we hoped to convey the thrill and dedication requisite in pursuing rare avian encounters.

 

 

 

Range

American golden plovers breed in Alaska and northern Canada and winter primarily in South America.

More information:

Bent Life History

Visit the Bent Life History for extensive additional information on the American Golden Plover.

Wing Shape

The shape of a bird’s wing is often an indication of its habits and behavior. Fast flying birds have long, pointed wings. Soaring birds have long, broad wings. Different songbirds will have a slightly different wing shape. Some species look so much alike (Empidonax flycatchers) that scientists sometimes use the length of specific feathers to confirm a species’ identification.

– Wings Adult, Washington, Aug

– Underside of the same wing

Wing images from the University of Puget Sound, Slater Museum of Natural History

 

 

 

Fun Facts

American golden plovers have an elliptical migration that takes them through the centre of the continent in spring but over the Atlantic Ocean in fall.

The weight of American golden plovers can vary dramatically depending on the time of year and where they are in their annual migration cycle.

Vocalizations

Calls include a variety of repetitive, shrill sounds.

Similar Species

Black-bellied Plover: breeding plumage

The breeding-plumaged Black-bellied Plover has a white crown and white under-tail coverts and lacks the golden-yellow flecks on the back.

Black-bellied Plover: non-breeding plumage

The Black-bellied Plover in non-breeding plumage is generally greyer in appearance and lacks the stronger eye line of the American Golden Plover. Bill of Black-bellied Plover is heavier, and the wing tip extension is shorter.

Pacific Golden-Plover

The Pacific Golden Plover breeds in northern Alaska and is rarely reported along the West Coast. More common in winter in Hawaii. The two species are very similar. The Pacific Golden Plover has a shorter tail extension and longer legs and bills.

 

 

Nesting

The American Golden Plover’s nest is a depression lined with plant material.

Number: 4.
Colour: Buffy with darker markings.

Incubation and fledging:
– Young hatch at about 26-27 days.
– Young fledge (leave the nest) within hours but associate with the adults for some time.

Bent Life History of the American Golden-Plover

Published by the Smithsonian Institution between the 1920s and the 1950s, the Bent life history series of monographs provide an often colourful description of the birds of North America. Arthur Cleveland Bent was the lead author for the series. The Bent series is a great resource and often includes quotes from early American Ornithologists, including Audubon, Townsend, Wilson, Sutton and many others.

Bent Life History for the American Golden-Plover – the common name and sub-species reflect the nomenclature used when the description was written.

AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER

PLUVIALIS DOMINICA DOMINICA (Muller)

 

 

 

HABITS

The golden plover is not only one of our most beautiful shore birds in its brilliant spring plumage, but its wonderful migration excites our admiration, and the comparison of its former abundance with its present scarcity furnishes a striking picture of the ruthless slaughter that has squandered our previous wealth of wildlife. A few quotations illustrate the enormous flights of golden plovers that swarmed over both American continents during the past century. Robert B. Roosevelt (1884) thus refers to a flock he saw near Montauk Point, Long Island, many years ago:

A gentle hollow spreads before us for several acres, covered with the ranks of the much-desired, matchless golden plover. As they stand in serried legions, the white mark on their heads gives a strange checkered weirdness to the phalanx, and we involuntarily pause, spellbound by the novelty of the spectacle. Our host himself, though an old hand, owns that he has never before gazed on such a sight. There they stand, with heads erect and bodies motionless, just out of gunshot. Our companion computed their number to be not less than 3,000, closely packed, and awaiting our onset. Warily crawling to within 70 yards ~ we halt as we see unmistakable evidence of uneasiness and suspicion among the crowded ranks. They stoop, run, and rise with “a sounding roar,” to which the united report of our four barrels savagely responds. Away, away with headlong speed, scatters and dissolves that multitudinous host, and we hasten to secure our spoils.

 

 

Writing of conditions in Argentina about the middle of the last century, W. H. Hudson (1922) writes:

The golden plover was then one of the most abundant species. After its arrival in September, the plains in my home neighbourhood were peopled with immense flocks of this bird. Sometimes, in hot summers, the streams and marshes would mostly dry up, and the aquatic bird population, the plover included, would shift their quarters to other districts. During one of these droughty seasons, when my age was 9, there was a marshy ground 2 miles from my home where a few small pools of water still remained, and to this spot, the golden plover would resort every day at noon. They would appear in flocks from all quarters, flying to it like starlings in England coming into some great roosting centre on a winter evening. I would then mount my pony and gallop off joyfully to witness the spectacle. Long before coming in sight of them, their voices would be audible, growing louder as I drew near. Coming to the ground, I would pull up my horse and sit gazing with astonishment and delight at the spectacle of that immense multitude of birds, covering an area of 2 or 3 acres, looking less like a vast flock than a floor of birds, in color a rich deep brown, in strong contrast to the pale gray of the dried-up ground all round them. A living, moving floor and a sounding one as well, and the sound, too, was amazing. It was like the sea, hut unlike it in character since it was not deep; it was more like the wind blowing, let us say, on thousands of tight-drawn wires of varying thicknesses, vibrating them to shrill sound, a mass and tangle of 10,000 sounds. But it is indescribable and onimaginable.

 

 

 

 

 

The arrival of this species at our lake is precipitate, for there may be none today and hundreds tomorrow. The flocks would appear to arrive by night, for they are there at daybreak when one usually takes the first walk around. They are not birds of the shoreline in the spring, but like the buff-breasted sandpiper, they seem chiefly to frequent country adjacent to some large lake. This, together with their mode of arrival, in considerable flocks and evidently at night, suggests that they have traveled a substantial distance from their last stopping place. They stay with us some days and then go In the manner In which they came, em mcsse. We have no records earlier than May 8 when the birds may first be expected, but the main contingent arrives nearer the 16th or 17th, while by the 23d or 24th they have usually all gone. Their period with us Is, therefore brief as compared with the majority of shorebird

Food: The favourite feeding grounds of the golden plover are rolling pasture lands where the grass is short or scanty, prairies, plains, cultivated lands and occasionally open sand or mud flats. Its food consists almost entirely of insects, chiefly Orthoptera which abound in the pasture lands. It is said to feed mainly on grasshoppers, but George H. Mackay (1891), who is very familiar with it, says that he has never seen it eat any, though he has watched it through a strong glass nearby. He says:

I have also examined the stomachs of a good many that I have shot on Nantucket and have never found any grasshoppers in them, nor in fact anything but crickets (which seem their principal food there), grass seeds, a little vegetable matter, like seaweed, coarse sand, and small stones. I have also frequently shot them with the vent-stained purple, probably from the berries of the Empetrum nigrum.

They must find abundant food in the north, for they are always very fat when they arrive here. The large numbers of grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, and other insects that they destroy make them very beneficial birds to the farmers of the west, where they also do much good by eating the grubs, cutworms, and wireworms on freshly plowed lands, their favorite resorts in spring. On the shores and open flats they find some small mollusks and crustaceans. The crops of two which Lucien M. Turner collected in northern Ungava were filled with ripening berries of Enipetrum nigrum and remains of spiders. Hantzsch found them eating beetles and caterpillars on Baffin Island.

 

 

Behaviour: The flight of the golden plover is exceedingly swift, intense and protracted, as it must be to make such extraordinary migrations. Over the prairies, the flocks sweep along in compact and ever-changing formations, skimming close to the ground at times and then rising high in the air, frequently whistling as they go. William Brewster (1925) has described their flight, as seen at Umbagog Lake, Maine, as follows:

They habitually flew faster than any other waders and perhaps more swiftly than any ducks except the hooded merganser. Their long, pointed wings, lifting high and cutting deep at each stroke, beat, rapidly and ceaselessly, yet so easily and smoothly as to indicate comparatively slight muscular effort. If they happened to pass near at hand or overhead their flight was likely to Impress one as having not only exceeding speed hut Irresistible momentum, also as of solid projectiles, hurtling through the air. Seen at a distance they appear to be moving more slowly and looked not. unlike passenger pigeons.

When preparing to alight the flocks often perform extensive evolutions, circling and turning, as they sweep about over the ground, as if selecting a satisfactory landing place. When a suitable spot is chosen, they all alight in a compact bunch, raising their wings high above their backs before folding them, and soon scatter over the ground to feed. When on the ground they are very active, running rapidly and gracefully, stopping suddenly to look around, with head held high, and then striking quickly at some morsel of food. Mr. Mackay (1891) says:

When scattered over considerable ground, as is usual after they have been any length of time on their feeding ground, every bird apparently on Its own hook, if alarmed, a note is sounded; they then rise so as to meet as soon as possible at a common center, which gained, away they go in a compact body. During the middle of the dny they are fond of seeking the margins of ponds, where they sit quietly for a long time, If undisturbed. When disturbed they are almost certain to return, In a short time, to the same spot from which they have been started, that Is, if they have been resting or feeding there any length of time. When suspicious, it is very difficult to approach, decoy, or call them; if not harassed, they are as a rule quite tame and gentle, and can be easily driven up to with horse and wagon.

 

 

 

 

Voice: 4ohn T. Nichols says in his notes:

The flight note of the golden plover In-migration is a far-reaching que-e-e-a, with a quiver in the middle and falling at the end. Though with a thrilling plover quality, it at the same time has an affinity to the kildeer’s cry, being less mellow and whistled than the note of the blackberry, which It also suggests reversed.

Mr. Mackay (1891) says that when these birds are approaching decoys every bird seems to be whistling “a note like coodle, coodle, coodle.” Mr. Forbush (1912) calls its note “a plaintive toc-lee-e,” or “a bright whistle, queep-quee-lee-leep.” Others have given different renderings of some of the above notes.

Field marks: The bird with which the golden plover is most likely to be confused is the black-bellied plover, but the golden is a smaller, more slender, bird, with a generally darker appearance. When seen in flight, the tone of the tail is very dark, and the axillars, under the wings, are grey, whereas in the black-bellied, the tail is decidedly whitish, and the axillars are very conspicuously black in all plumages; furthermore, the black-bellied has a conspicuous light wing bar, which is lacking in the golden. The notes of the two are quite different. When in hand the golden is seen to have no hind toe. Mr. Nichols suggests that the golden has a swifter, more buoyant flight, suggestive of the killdeer.

 

 

 

 

Fall: Mr. Murdoch (1885) refers to the beginning of the migration as follows:

The nesting season continues till the first or middle of July. About this time, the adults begin to collect in flocks, feeding together around the ponds on the higher tundra, which is sometimes associated with a few knots or a struggling curlew. The old birds leave for the south about the end of July. No more plovers are to be seen until about the middle of August, when the young, who heretofore have been keeping out of sight, scattered over the tundra, gather into flocks, and for several days are quite plenty on the dryer hills and banks, after which they depart. Stragglers may be seen up to the end of August.

The main trend of the fall migration is southeastwards, mainly west and south of Hudson Bay, but perhaps across it also, to the Atlantic coast, mostly north of New England. In favorable weather, the flight is over the ocean from Nova Scotia to South America over, or to the eastward of, Bermuda and the Lesser Antilles. Mr. Clark (1905) figures out that this is the course they would take, if they flew with a beam wind, across the prevailing winds. Of thek course after landing in British Guiana, he says:

From this point, their course is not accurately known, but if we apply this theory, they will follow down the northeastern tributaries of the Amazons until they came within the influence of the southeast trades, which would carry them southwest, over central Aniazonia toward Peru and Bolivia. Somewhat northwest of the Matto Grosso region, the birds would come under the influence of the easterly winds on the southern border of the trades, which would turn them south, and gradually (as they became more northeasterly) southeast, which would bring the plover into tile prairie region of the Argentine. Here the prevailing westerlies of the pampas region would be felt, and the birds would, under their influence, continue down ‘the eastern part of Fatagonia toward Tierra del Fuego.

 

 

 

To add strength to his theory, he says there are specimens in the British Museum from Mount Roraima and the Maroni River, Surinam, and from Peru taken in September and October.

Some birds on the fall migration wander as far north and east as Baffin Island and northeastern Labrador. Lucien M. Turner refers in his notes to several adults whom he saw and two that he collected near the mouth of the Koksoak River between July 24 and August 19, 1882. I have a young bird specimen in my collection taken near Hopedale, Labrador. Flantzsch found this plover breeding on Baffin Island.

 

Stragglers arrive as early as July and the beginning of August, but the main flights come with the first heavy weather after the 27th of August, and long experience and observation prove that this date is kept year after year with outstanding accuracy. The course of all the migratory Charadrildae across Barbados Is from the northwest to southeast in the autumn. If the wind blows from the southeast, the birds are brought down to the island, for it appears to be a tolerably well-established observation that birds prefer migrating with a “beam” wind. A shift of wind from the northeast, with windy weather to the southeast, is ardently longed for by the Barbados sportsmen toward the end of August, as this forces the migratory hosts to alight Instead of passing over at a great height, as they are seen to do when the wind is from the northeast. The first arrivals of this species are invariably black-breasted birds, showing that the old birds precede the young, and the first corners are nearly all males. The young birds without black on the breast appear about the 12th of September, and continue to pass till the end of October, sometimes stragglers are as late as November. Even In the most favorable seasons, only a fraction of the immense flights that pass over the island ever alight.

Much has been written about The Atlantic flight of the golden plover and remarkably little has been said about the southward flight in the interior, but such a flight occurs regularly, though in much smaller numbers. Professor Rowan (1926) says that in Alberta:

We have notes of hundreds going south in a single day In mid-September, when the main movements occur annually. An Interesting feature of the fall migration of golden plover Is that it consists entirely of young birds. The earliest record we have is August 18 and the next August 24. These are rather early, September being the chief month of arrival. The fall movements are protracted, and we may have small flocks with us until the end of October. Another feature of the autumn migration Is a change of habit. The birds, while often noted on pasture (particularly if In large flocks) more usually frequent the muds and behave ilke the majority of other waders. They associate freely and habitually with other species. They behave like the strays of the spring. Being birds of the year there is no doubt in their case that they are sexually undeveloped. We have a single record of an adult bird in the fall collected by Harrold on August 22. It was noted the previous day, but not secured, and proved to be a female well advanced In its moult. There Is one other reliable autumn record for an adult golden plover from the Province, seen at Sullivan Lake in July by Mr. T. E. Randall. Until we have spent the whole of July at our lake or some other suitable observation station, it will be impossible to say that adults never: except accidentally as strays: come south through the Province, but all evidence available Indicates that they do not do so.

The golden plover in the south has been most common on open plains but ranges to some extent on the mud flats of the coast. In this last area, the species may be expected to survive as the pampas become more closely occupied by man. These buds are hunted extensively and So many have heen killed both in the north and south that their numbers have been greatly reduced. Though recorded in its nesting rouge as only fairly common at hest, the region where the golden plover is found at this season Is extensive, so that the number of birds in existence Is still considerable. Careful watch should be kept on its abundance.

DISTRIBUTION
Range: North and South America, accidental in Europe.

Breeding ran ge.: The breeding range of the American golden plover has not been definitively separated from that of its western relative (Plwvialis d. fulva). It has, however, been found that in Alaska, fulva is more nearly confined to the northwestern coastal regions, while Dominica is in the interior and on the northern coast.

The breeding range may be defined as extending north to Alaska (Point Barrow, Collison Point, and Demarcation Point); Baflin Island (Kangianga, Tikerakdjuak, and Kangidli); and Franklin (Walker Bay, Bay of Mercy, Winter Harbor, Wellington Channel, and probably Igloolik). East to Baflin Island; Franklin (probably Igloolik and Winter Island); and northeastern Keewatin (Whale Point). South to Keewatin (Whale Point); Mackenzie (Casba River, Lac de Gras, Bernard Harbor, Rendezvous Lake, Fort Anderson, and Fort McPherson); and Alaska (Gens de Large Mountains, Beaver Mountains, and probably Nushagak). West to Alaska (probably Nushagak and Point Barrow).

It also has been detected in summer in Greenland (Jacobshaven and Godthaab), but there is no evidence of breeding in that region.

Winter range: The winter range of the American golden plover extends north to rarely Chile (Arica) ; and rarely Brazil (Villa Maria, Matto Grosso, and Rio de Janeiro). East to rarely Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catharina) ; Uruguay (Montevideo) and Argentina (La Plata, Cape San Antonio, and Bahia Blanca). South to Argentina (Bahia Blanca, Sierra de la Ventana, Carhue, and Mendoza). West to western Atgentina (Mendoza) ; and rarely Chile (Arica). Occasionally, individuals may pass the winter season at more northern points such as Nauta, Peru (Sharpe), and Old Harbor, Costa Rica (Carriker). Winter occurrences at other northern localities probably refer to crippled birds or erroneous identifications.

Migration: The American golden plover’s main migration route is elliptical. In late summer, after the breeding season, the birds move southeast across northern Canada to the coasts of Labrador and Nova Scotia. From these points, they fly, apparently without stopping, to the northeast coast of South America, passing thence through the interior to the pampas region of Argentina. The northward flight in spring is made farther west, through Central America, up the Mississippi Valley to the Prairie Provinces of Canada.

Individuals and small flocks are noted more or less regularly in both spring and fall, on the Atlantic coast and in the interior. Still, the main route should be considered when considering the following arrival and departure dates.

 

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