Black-bellied Plover

Erika and I photographed two Black-bellied Plovers at the Billy Frank Jr National Wildlife Refuge on 1 January 2022—a nice addition to our growing 2022 bird list. We have several other winter records for Black-bellied Plovers near Olympia. Black-bellied Plovers breed across the high arctic of both hemispheres. They winter in temperate and tropical areas around the world, as far south as southern Australia, central Argentina, and across the Pacific Ocean. Perhaps more surprising is that some winter, in the New World, as far north as Newfoundland and southern British Columbia. Poole et al. (2020) suggest these shorebirds occur so far north in the winter is due to the birds’ relatively large size (compared to other plovers). Larger birds have a smaller surface area relative to their to body size and are, therefore, less prone to lose body heat in cold climates. Another factor that may contribute to their northern range is that Black-bellied Plovers consume a relatively diverse range of prey items.