Semipalmated Plover • Bird Accounts • Fraser Valley Birding

Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)

Status in the Checklist Area - (7) Accidental

Information

This small plover appears in good numbers along the coast during migration but is accidental in our area. As is typical for most of our shorebirds, breeds in the arctic tundra and winters to the south. Semipalmated Plovers winter as far south as Argentina and are a rare wintering species in B.C. Most of our records are during fall migration with single winter and spring sightings.

Similar species:
Looks like a miniture Killdeer in some respects but is smaller, shorter billed and has a single black breastband.

Sources:
Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, (1988)
Sibley, D. 2000

Noteworthy Data

Date	Location	Source(s)	Comments
May 14, 2013	Annis Road, Chilliwack
September 11, 2012	Campbell Road, Abbotsford	D. Beeke 2012b	A single bird on a turf farm in Sumas Prairie.
September 21, 2011	Eagle Point Community Park, Harrison Mills	C. McDonald 2011d	A lone bird among Killdeer out on the flats.
August 22, 2011	Whelpton Road, Agassiz	K. R. Jones 2011a	Three juveniles in a small wet area in a field. Possibly the same birds as August 16, 2011.
August 15, 2011	Whelpton Road, Agassiz	K. R. Jones 2011b C. McDonald 2011e	A single juvenile seen on August 16, 2011 (C. McDonald 2011) with three seen the next morning (K.R. Jones 2011)
November 26, 2010	Limbert Road, Agassiz	M. Brown 2010a	A pair of birds along a backwater of the Fraser River. Only winter record for the species in the checklist area.
August 31, 2008	Sinclair Road, Chilliwack	G. Gadsden 2008f	Adult bird in a small pond with other shorebird species.
May 10, 2008	Sinclair Road, Chilliwack	G. Gadsden 2008e	An adult in a small pond with other shorebirds. Only spring record for the checklist area to date.

Photographs

Audio and Video

None available

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