Jason & Steve Grunwald spotted an American Golden Plover (AMGP) flying into the Church Road mudflats at Green Lane Park this morning. I was right behind them so I was able
to photograph this beautiful bird albeit from a distance. The bird was still in partial breeding plumage enabling easy identification and, of course, differentiation from our
much more common Black-bellied Plover. The AMGP has black on the breast all the way to the tail and the Black-bellied Plover only halfway; also, the Black-bellied Plover
has black armpits (axillaries) whereas the American Golden Plover does not...see the two photos below:

  
                        American Golden Plover At Green Lane Park                                                                    Black-bellied Plover At Brigantine, 2008

American Golden Plover At Green Lane Park     

 American Golden Plover At Green Lane Park     

American Golden Plover Flies At At Green Lane Park     
 
American Golden Plover, Non-Breeding Plumage, Brigantine, 2009

The American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) is a medium-sized plover. In breeding plumage, adults are spotted gold and black on the crown, back and wings. Their face and
neck are black with a white border; they have a black breast and a dark rump. The legs are black. The breeding habitat of American Golden Plover is Arctic tundra in northern
Canada and Alaska. They nest on the ground in a dry open area. These birds forage for food on tundra, fields, beaches and tidal flats, usually by sight. They eat insects and
crustaceans, also berries. They are migratory and winter in southern South America. They follow an elliptical migration path; northbound birds pass through Central America
about January-April and stage in great numbers in places like Illinois before their final push north. In fall, they take a more easterly route, flying mostly over the western Atlantic
and Caribbean to the wintering grounds in Patagonia. Adult American Golden-Plovers leave their Arctic breeding grounds in early summer, but juveniles usually linger until late
summer or fall.  Some adults arrive on the wintering grounds in southern South America before the last juveniles have left the Arctic.

The bird has one of the longest known migratory routes of over 25,000 miles. Of this, 2,400 miles are over open ocean where it cannot stop to feed or drink. It does this from body fat
stores that it stocks up on prior to the flight. It is a regular vagrant to western Europe. (Wikipedia; Cornell BNA)

To see a larger image of any of the photos below, please click on either the thumbnails or the captions...thanks!