American Golden Plovers

Six American golden plovers fed on a mudflat at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area this morning, having stopped to rest and feed on the Missouri River floodplain as they head for the Arctic tundra of Alaska and Canada.  These long-distance migrants leave their Arctic breeding grounds by late summer, traveling to grasslands of Patagonia (in southern South America) for the northern winter; this journey is achieved without rest stops as the plovers travel off the East Coast of the Americas.

Come spring, American golden plovers migrate northward through the heart of North America; it is then (primarily in late March or early April) that they may be encountered on fields or mudflats, often in large flocks.  After feeding on invertebrates and seeds, they continue their journey to the north and will be nesting on the tundra by late spring.

This morning's visitors had not yet molted to their summer plumage but they were nevertheless attractive birds.  Of course, their beauty is magnified by our knowledge of their stamina; seasonal residents of two Hemispheres, they grace the Heartland for but a few weeks each year.  My friend and I were fortunate to enjoy their presence.

Wintering Tundra Swans

Breeding across the Arctic tundra of Alaska and Canada, North American tundra swans are represented by two populations, each currently comprised of about 100,000 birds.  The western population, which breeds in Alaska, winters on estuaries of the Pacific Northwest and on lakes of California's Central Valley and the Great Basin.

The eastern population, which often stops to rest and feed in wetlands along the Great Lakes during migrations, winter primarily on coastal bays of the Mid-Atlantic region.  Nevertheless, small flocks may turn up anywhere between these major wintering areas, including lakes along the Front Range of Colorado and New Mexico, reservoirs of the Great Plains and riverine wetlands along the Missouri, Mississippi, Arkansas and Ohio Valleys.

Resting on open waters, these magnificent birds feed primarily on aquatic vegetation and on waste grain in nearby agricultural fields; they are also known to consume clams and other marine invertebrates.  Like snow geese, their spring migration (which peaks from February to March) is often more gradual and less direct than their autumn flights and the swans generally travel in smaller flocks.  Smaller and slimmer than trumpeter swans, tundra swans are also identified by their high-pitched calls (hence their nickname: "whistling swans") and by a small yellow patch at the base of their bill.

Red-throated Loons

Having encountered my first red-throated loons along the coast of South Carolina yesterday, I thought it might be a good time to review the nature of this bird.  This smallest member of the loon family breeds across northern Alaska, Canada and Greenland, nesting in tundra ponds and wetlands.  In winter, it is found on coastal marine waters from Alaska to the Baja and from Newfoundland to Georgia.

Red-throated loons are monogamous and both parents take part in nest building and in caring for the young.  Two eggs are generally laid in a mound of vegetation that is placed onshore or directly in shallow water; hatchlings are fed aquatic insects while the adults feed on a wide variety of fish and crustaceans.  Unlike their cousins, these smaller, thinner loons do not transport young on their backs and are able to take off from land or the water surface without a running start.

While the adults lose their distinctive red and gray markings in the non-breeding season, wintering birds are identified by the white and gray pattern on their head and neck, by their slight build and by their habit of holding both their head and bill in an upturned position (in the manner of much larger cormorants).  Indeed, it was this latter behavior that first caught my attention; as veteran birders know, common species are often quickly identified by their silhouette and mannerisms and any unusual appearance or behavior demands closer inspection.