The beautiful American Golden Plover that migraters to Argentina
A few years ago, I made a trip to the Arctic coast of Canada. I hoped to photograph several birds and mammals I had wanted to see for many years. In addition to the Golden Plover, the Trumpeter Swan and other birds, I photographed wolves, Dall Sheep, and the rare Black Arctic Ground Squirrel. There are photos and stories about all of these on Mythatchedhut.com
Me photographing the American Golden Plover in the treeless Arctic tundra.
One bird that I wanted to see was the American Golden Plover. This is a magnificent bird with black, white, and gold plumage. It has a pitch-black face and belly with a pure white stripe running from the forehead, around the back of the face, to the upper body. The top of the head and back are speckled with black, white and gold. A real beauty! The American Golden Plover breeds in the high Arctic of Alaska, northern Canada, and the Canadian Arctic islands. They feed primarily on insects but also eat berries and seeds. They nest on the ground in the treeless tundra.
While photographing the Golden Plovers in the photo above, I was not paying attention to my surroundings. I did not notice two huge Grizzly Bears approaching from the valley in the background. I turned my tripod around and got some great bear photos.
Migration
The American Golden Plover makes one of the longest migrations of any shorebird. After spending the spring and most of the summer in the high Arctic, they migrate south to the grasslands of Argentina and southern Brazil for the winter. Not waiting for summer to end, they start their migration about mid-August. The juvenile birds remain in the Arctic longer. The adults are often in Argentina by the time the juveniles start their migration.
Winter Plumage
Starting to change colour. Notice the white spots on face and breast
The American Golden Plover is not always so beautiful, however. After the breeding season, they begin to change colour to their winter plumage. During winter, they are a dull grey. If you saw one, you may not realise it is the same species as the spectacular bird you saw in the spring. I got many things done from my bucket list this summer. Photographing the wonderful American Golden Plover was one of them. Finding this bird is difficult. First, you must travel to the high Arctic. Then you need to find the birds. I spent much time hunting for them on the treeless Arctic tundra and could only find two on one of my last days in the Arctic.
Hard to believe that this is the same species
I photographed this American Golden Plover in Alberta in mid-August during migration. All the beautiful colours have been replaced with their dull winter grey plumage.