Little Waihi/Maketu - American Golden Plover

[Tim Barnard]

Still present at Little Waihi and showing well with 31 PGPs, moving cautiously closer to AGP all the time - see below. Also present:

Bar-tailed gowit 550
Knot 17
Banded dotterel 32
Wrybill 1
Red-necked stint 3

Cheers
Tim

[Tim Barnard]

Hi
The bird was present last night at Little Waihi with 31 PGPs. Increasingly interested in this one as the PGPs around it are all very coloured now.

On face value this has many attributes of AGP and some interesting features to note.

• It gives the general appearance of a stocky grey bird – it’s easily picked out of the flock.
• Long white prominent supercilium that extends well beyond the eye.
• Greyish brown upperparts with white and some subtle yellowish fringing
• White and mottled greyish brown underparts
• Dark ear coverts and smudgy spot before the eye
• Darkish cap.
• Shortish tibia in all photos I have.
• Longish winged - certainly passed the tail (though admittedly not dramatically so and it is within the range of PGP) but also quite close to that in the Australian example below.
• Yellow tones restricted to the cap, mantle and back.
• As yet … no buffy or yellow tones to the breast, flanks or face.
• Very white around the face accentuating the eye. The very pale nape is interesting.
• Two or three have commented to me that in some respects it is slightly suggestive of a simplified, finer featured grey plover (P.squatarola).
• The general lack of pronounced notching is interesting.
• One comment I received from Jeff Davies via Steve Wood, an observation based on the experience of the Sydney bird, is that the longest tertial on this bird is simple and un-notched, and broadly rounded – a characteristic that could be an important feature. The oldest remaining tertial is well short of the tail and last remaining primaries all consistent for AGP.

There are some other finer points but this will do for now. On behaviour, it does get chased frequently by the PGPs – may mean nothing but worth noting. As for the bill, there is so much overlap between PGPs and AGPs I’m not sure how useful it is to use it.

So I’m keeping a watching brief on this one. It is in moult so the primary/tertial ratio doesn’t come into play yet. I did think I got some toe projection too in flight which would work against it but then so did the Manawatu bird … these are not easy …

Hopefully it will stick around till March and we’ll get more info to digest … good bird to learn from.

If you want to come and have a look at it for yourself and not sure where to go I’m happy to help … 0274 758 979

Cheers

Tim

[Tim Barnard]

Hi
Had some comments on this bird from Australia, for interest here are some photos of the Australian AGP last year ...
http://www.pbase.com/davidstowe/american_golden_plover
Cheers
Tim

[Tim Barnard]

Hi
Still present this week ... Ian Southey got some photos on Wednesday night. Now dropped all old primaries - in the waiting game on that feature. In fact I got some good photos of the extended primaries last week and it appears to have only two original primaries in the photos I've put up here.
Cheers
Tim

[Tim Barnard]

Hi
Just been looking at more photos of the AGP at Boat Shed bay in Aus from last year - this time they're January photos and the resemblance to the Little Waihi bird is remarkable. Moving ever closer to AGP on this one (very optimistic) - sorry can't post them as they're copyrighted ... but I'll see if i can get permission.
Cheers
Tim

[Tim Barnard]

Photographed with Pacific golden plovers on 12th Jan ... the bird has now lost those remaining primaries ... that apart - its looking more and more AGP all the time ...

[Tim Barnard]

Hi
Convinced this is an AGP based on the evidence to date ... done lots of work on it over the last week or so, had some excellent comments and thoughts from Steve Wood, Jeff Davies, Ian Southey and others. Ian hope you don't mind me posting one of your awesome shots from 19th Jan...
Cheers
Tim

[Tim Barnard]

Hi
Biggish twitch at the Kaituna Cut - Steve Wood, Loretta Garrett, Phil Hammond, Paul Cumings and I found the AGP in flooded fields before the Kaituna Cut. Showing well with 12 PGPs, 4 red-necked stint and plenty of bandies and about 800 Barwits. Got some flight photos showing 'minimal' toe projection. Primaries growing amazingly now since Ian's last photos.
Cheers
Tim

[Tim Barnard]

Just some more info if you're heading over ... Great opportunity to see the bird without having to wade around.

The plover was in the fields between the Kaituna Cut (mouth of the Kaituna) and the estuary control gates. Scan the fields - they're largely underwater following the downpour on Friday night. Access via Kaituna Road, then right into Ford Road if coming from town.

Spectacular Maketu day - huge surf, bright sunshine and plenty of birds...

The bird was looking at home in the wet paddocks - almost like the grasslands of South America ...
Cheers
Tim

ps the bird is on private land best to get permission before accessing the site ... Steve and I will be out there today ... give me txt if you're out looking 0274758979.

[phil hammond]

it will be interesting to see this bird's primaries in a month or two!!

boy it really stands out and each time the flock moved it was easy to find it again---we got really good views of it for about 3 hours yesterday especially the last hour or so

every time a pgp walked past the pgp looked decidedly slim and elegant by comparison with this bulky bird---and its so PLAIN grey brown even the cap is diff

it also behaved differrently being aggressive to godwits and others and feeding in the paddocks while the pgps loafed

short tibia, white supercillium, white around base of bill and other points already made by tim---but mostly that plain plumage and differrent jizz make it hard to believe this is the same species as the pgps

as i said ---be interesting to see the primaries in a month or two if its still here

phil h