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Alan Lillich
11-29-2009, 07:23 PM
My wife and I are newbies about bird IDs. The attached photo was taken at Moss Landing in CA a couple of weeks ago. I think the bird is about 6" tall. The best guess I can make from iBird Pro is that it is some kind of sandpiper, but most of those seem to have sharper bills and more distinct white undersides.

thanks for any help,
Alan
denise ippolito
11-29-2009, 07:32 PM
Looks like a Black-bellied plover in winter plumage.
Axel Hildebrandt
11-29-2009, 07:58 PM
Another vote for Black-bellied Plover.
john jackson
11-30-2009, 05:00 PM
Hi Alan

You were on the right track noticing the large blunt bill and marked underparts. Other things to notice with Black-bellied Plover (we call them Grey Plover) include the big black eye and spangled upperparts. If it flew/raised its wings, you may have seen its black armpits.


John
Trivedi Vatsal
12-06-2009, 09:01 AM
Beautiful image! This is a grey plover (black bellied plover).
Here is my image of the same bird.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2693/4162299609_f65d78cd14_o.jpg
Alan Lillich
12-06-2009, 01:04 PM
Thanks Trivedi. The light and background in yours is much nicer than mine. Since the bay at Jamnagar faces west, I'm guessing yours was shot at sunrise? Mine was late morning. One of the challenges of the CA central coast is that hills tend to block the early morning light.

Alan
Trivedi Vatsal
12-08-2009, 01:31 AM
Yeah you are right. I took this image early morning. At about 7:45 am. The bird was quite friendly & let me come towards it.
Arthur Morris
12-09-2009, 08:22 PM
Trivedi, I am pretty sure that your bird is a juvenile.
Trivedi Vatsal
12-10-2009, 02:14 AM
Hi Arthur sir,
Can you tell me how you identified it as juvenile. I'm also juvenile in this field so want to know. :)
Arthur Morris
12-26-2009, 10:38 AM
Hi Arthur sir, Can you tell me how you identified it as juvenile. I'm also juvenile in this field so want to know. :)

Hi Trevedi, Sorry to be so long in getting back to you on this. I was thinking about it. :) Though I still think that your bird is a juvenile, I am not positive. Perhaps the sweet light fooled me. And the feather wear. Fresh juveniles are easy to age. The are evenly spotted.

There is a great thread on juvenile golden-plover vs. juv. black-bellied here:

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=45586

What month was your image created in?