American Golden Plover

[Phil Gregory <>]

A belated posting I'm afraid, I was away up at Lotusbird Lodge after my
lifer Red Goshawk, with a supporting cast of Golden-shouldered
Parrot, 14 Grass Owls one night out on the plains, a Rufous
Owl, both Tawny and Papuan Frogmouths, a White-streaked
Honeyeater, 5 Star Finch (rare in Queensland these days, these
were of the yellow bellied northern form as expected) and lots of Banded,
White-gaped, Rufous-banded and Rufous-thoated Honeyeaters. A
juvenile Pec Sand out on the Nifold Plain with Pacific Golden
Plovers was also a surprise. Mustn't forget Northern Nail tail Wallaby
either,
we had a really good stay at the Lodge and it's a must if you are going
up the Cape. Thanks to Murray Hunt for working so hard for us, and to John
Crowhurst and Mark Jagusch for good company. I can also report a sighting
of John Crowhurst running, for his lifer Star Finch........
Anyway, the posting concerns what I think is an American Golden
Plover which was on the marsh grass along the Cairns Esplanade on October
20. I initially thought it was a Grey Plover coming out of summer
dress, but realised it was too dainty, later confirmed by the typical "Lesser
Golden" wing pattern and tail pattern. The bird is clearly an adult coming
out of summer plumage, it very much resembles a Grey Plover with a mottled
black face and underparts, but with a white line along the flanks. The
wings extended well beyond the tail, giving a slender, attenuated rear
end, far more so than nearby Pacific Golden which usually fall level
or are just beyond the tail, and the tertials were notably short, well
behind the tail tip. There was some black mottling on the undertail but
this seems to be of little value in the field for separating the species.
There was no hint of golden or buff spangling on this bird, very unlike
Pacific GP's. Another greyish bird nearby was also of interest, but we
never got a detailed look at it. Curiously, two American Golden Plovers
were
reported here back in October 1998, allowing close views in the short marsh
grass and being conspicuous by their very greyish appearance. I don't think
these were ever submitted to BARC, does anyone have detailed notes about
them?
Phil Gregory