Yesterday I spent the majority of the day at the Salt Pond in Ravenswood
in Santa Mateo looking for the previously reported plover, with a large
number of other observers over the course of the day. I spent much of
the day checking various parts of the pond. The pond was devoid of
shorebirds before about 10am, when the tide got high enough that birds
started streaming in from the pond from the bayside mudflats.
The plover was present for 4 minutes around 1:30pm, for another 2
minutes around 4pm. It appeared again around 5:30, and was almost
continuously visible through a little after 6:15 when we departed (as
rain had become unpleasant). It was primarily hanging around this region
37.4944897, -122.1498799. It was most easily visible where there is a
bend in the mud dike here 37.4945740, -122.1492375. Observers were
present at that location almost continuously from 11am-6:15pm. This
pattern matches Marty's experience in the previous evening. I saw the
plover once at the dike west of those coordinated looking east, but that
view was distant. All good views of this bird were obtained at the above
coordinates. I was joined by various observers through the day, but much
of the best views occurred in the evening with Etan Monk, Lucas
Stephenson, Michael Park, Rachel Lawrence and Karen Pinkard.
If people want to look for the plover, I recommend arriving at 4pm, or
similar, as that seems to be the best time to find this bird. It was
never found away from the general location listed above (and the pond is
quite large), and was quite cooperative in the evening.
There has been much discussion of the identity of this bird, but it
seems some marks in support of Piping are:
-the white wingstripe was very broad and pronounced, notably moreso than
on a Semipalm
-the tail band was distinctly black, contrasting to a much paler
(whitish) tail base. Semi Plovers should have an all dark tail including
the base
-comparatively short legs
-relatively short, thick bill
-relatively round shape and large-headed appearance
The bird also showed orangy legs in the field. There is still some
discussion on the above marks, but most expert opinion seems to be that
this bird is fine for Piping Plover, and I would strongly encourage
anyone who would be interested in seeing a Piping Plover in San Mateo or
California go to see this bird, and better yet take photos and video.
While waiting for the plover to return, around 2pm, Rachael Lawrence,
Chris Hayward and I observed an adult alternate-plumaged LAUGHING GULL
flew by, westbound.
