During this season's godwit hunt at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Erika and I also searched for Black-bellied Plovers. Becasue the birds fed on distant mudflats, this species also proved to be elusive. I finally took several photographs on 22 October 2019. I was startled when I came upon the second photo, which to appears to be a Pacific Golden-Plover, a rare bird in Puget Sound.
In winter plumage, the two species are difficult to tell apart. Looking at these pictures, the most obvious difference is the color of the belly—white in the Black-bellied Plover, dark in the golden-plover. The golden-plover sports a yellowish wash on its face and breast. The golden-plover also has brown spots on its nape, lacking in the Black-bellied. The golden-plover is a slightly smaller bird and its head is more roundly shaped. The Black-bllied Plover’s bill is slightly larger and differently shaped, Black-bellied Plovers show black “arm-pits” in flight, but I did not have the luxury of noting that field-mark on these perched birds.
After reviewing all these marks, I reviewed one of my previous Pacific Golden-Plover records. I have argued with friends about this identification. I guess my previous record is wrong, and that the bird is actually a Black-bellied Plover. This reminds me of a quote attribued to Pete Dunne: “The difference between a beginning birder and an experienced one is that beginning birders have misidentified a few birds. Experienced birders have misidentified thousands.”
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