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Semipalmated Plover - Charadrius semipalmatus
Small shorebird with a brown crown and back. The bill was dark with a small orange spot near the base. Underparts were white. It had a blackish brown ring around its neck.
Habitat: I spotted a group of these birds on a beach in the intertidal zone. They were foraging among the abundant seaweed. They would run several steps, stop, stare, and then peck at the seaweed, and then repeat!
The semipalmated plover is a small plover. The genus name "Charadrius" is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek "kharadrios" a bird found in ravines and river valleys. The specific " semipalmatus " is Latin and comes from "semi", "half" and "palma", "palm". Like the English name, this refers to its only partly webbed feet.
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And, just to note - there is no garbage on this beach. Everything you see in this shot is seaweed, seashells, and other natural debris! I've never seen so much seaweed along the Maine coast.
Posted 6 years ago