Hooper Bay, Alaska, United States


Sand dunes disappear with more frequent and powerful storms in Western Alaska. These storms have impacted bird nesting grounds and tundra plants.


Semipalmated plover

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Semipalmated Plover Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

<p>The cheerful whistle of a Semipalmated Plover coursing over a mudflat or picking through a plowed field is often the first sign that these small shorebirds are present. They look like miniature Killdeer, but with only one black band across the breast. Their brown backs blend especially well with dark backgrounds, but their run-and-stop foraging style helps to pick them out. These alert foragers tend to stick to mudflats, sandbars, and fields rather than steep or rocky beaches.</p>

Pacific Golden-Plover Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

<p>During the breeding season, Pacific Golden-Plovers dazzle with gold-spangled feathers and a jet-black face and breast. These graceful, long-winged shorebirds breed on arctic tundra, usually in lower, wetter slopes than the closely related American Golden-Plover. Both species perform fluttery courtship flights, giving mellow calls. After breeding, Pacific Golden-Plovers head far out over the sea to spend winters as far away as Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Southeast Asia, and the Horn of Africa.</p>

Black-bellied Plover Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

<p>In breeding plumage, Black-bellied Plovers are a dazzling mix of snow white and jet black, accented by checkerboard wings. They are supreme aerialists, both agile and swift, and are readily identified at great distance by black axillaries (“armpit” feathers) in all plumages—and by their distinctive, mournful-sounding call. The largest and heaviest of North American plovers, Black-bellied is also the hardiest, breeding farther north than other species, at the very top of the world. It is also a very widespread shorebird, occurring on six continents.</p>

American Golden-Plover Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

<p>An American Golden-Plover in breeding plumage, with its simple black-and-white body set off by shimmering gold-flecked wings, can rival any shorebird for sheer beauty. In the nonbreeding season they are a more subdued, speckled brown with a pale eyebrow. These trim, slender-billed shorebirds hunt in tundra, grasslands, and fields by running a short distance and then stopping abruptly to look for insects and other small prey. On their arctic breeding grounds, male American Golden-Plovers give a complex “butterfly” flight display accompanied by a rhythmic song.</p>

Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus