Yesterday, Mike Rader posted an excellent report on the bird activity at Cheyenne Bottoms. Most notably, he observed a mixed flock of small plovers, including the endangered Piping Plover. Mike wrote, “The Piping Plovers were in one loose group along the east side of Pool 1A, along with a dozen or so Snowy Plovers and 28 Semipalmated Plovers.”

Plovers are a group of small to medium-sized shorebirds with short, pointed bills. The Charadrius plovers include the familiar Killdeer and are characterized by a breastband or collar; the double breastband is a unique fieldmark of the Killdeer. So, how do we distinguish the remaining plovers? As David Sibeley said, “Birdwatching is like a matching game with a time limit […] Your challenge is to find those birds, see them well enough to discern a few characteristics, and use those clues to match the bird to the name.”

The small, belted plover complex (Piping, Snowy, and Semipalmated) appear roughly half the size of the Killdeer, or about the same size as the small sandpipers we know as “peeps”. While sandpipers typically probe along mudflats, the stop-and-go feeding behavior of plovers might help you find plovers from a distance despite their size. With an upright posture, some plovers have very plump appearance; imagine a marshmallow with legs and a small beak.

Once you’ve narrowed the identity down to a small plover, what’s next?  Hopefully, these clues will help you match plover identities on your next shorebird watching adventure:

Back feathers – Piping  and Snowy Plovers are light colored; the Semipalmated Plover is dark, like the Killdeer.

Breastband – Piping  and Snowy Plovers have pale or incomplete breastbands; the Semipalmated Plover has a complete, dark-colored breastband (and a dark mask).

Leg color – Piping  and Semipalmated Plovers have yellow/orange legs; Snowy Plovers have dull, grayish legs.

Bill color – Piping and Semipalmated Plovers have a  two-toned bill (orange with a black tip); the Snowy Plover’s bill is solid black.

▪   Light-colored back ▪   two-toned bill ▪   yellow/orange legs ▪   narrow breastband	▪   dark-colored back ▪   two-toned bill ▪   yellow/orange legs ▪   complete breastband ▪   dark mask	▪   Light-colored back ▪   two-toned bill ▪   yellow/orange legs ▪   narrow breastband