A week of sunshine and temperatures in the low 50’s almost convinced me that Spring was near, especially since it got me out birding again, but none of the birds we saw at Ft. Flagler were in breeding plumage yet.
In fact, most of them were definitely still in non-breeding plumage, like this Black-bellied Plover
which definitely lacked the black belly that the species is named after.
There were a few, though, that seemed to be gradually transitioning to breeding plumage
though they still weren’t recognizable as Black-bellied Plovers.
Most of the Sanderlings were still in non-breeding plumage, too.
None displayed the Rufus color I associate with Sanderling in breeding colors, but a few of them were definitely darker than the ones in winter plumage.
It turned out that the birds had a much better sense of what season it is after we ended up with a late snow day about a week after these pictures were taken.
I guess we’ll have to wait until Friday for Spring to arrive. Hopefully Mother Nature will remember to glance at her calendar.
The Black-Bellied Plover, identifiable by its white belly* LOL. Do they get black bellies where you are? I thought you had to be in the Arctic to actually see full breeding plumage.
We see them during Spring Migration at Bottle Beach near Westport, WA. Most are still changing plumage then, but there is always several in the large flocks that are in full breeding colors.
I think if you search this site for Blackbellied Plovers you’ll find some decent shots from previous years.