Preview–Special bird, presumed Mountain Plover at Malibu Lagoon
October 23, 2016
Mountain Plover Malibu Lagoon 10/23/2016 Joyce Waterman
Mountain Plover Malibu Lagoon 10/23/2016 Joyce Waterman
Mountain Plover Malibu Lagoon 10/23/2016 John Olson
Sighted this morning app. 10:30 and photographed at the Lagoon’s Snowy Plover area. According to our guides (the human ones, the books, and the apps) it would appear to be an immature Mountain Plover, well out of its usual range.
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SANTA MONICA BAY AUDUBON SOCIETY BLOG 
But….two years ago, there was a Wilson’s Plover that made an appearance at Dockweiler, according to two observers…
I go with the Mountain because of the peachy shoulder patch that seems to never appear on other plovers according to the four different field guides I consulted…any more comments? Should we call Kimball to adjudicate?
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Horses and Zebras. One Wilson’s Plover two years ago qualifies as “hardly ever” AKA “occasional.” Gray Hawk and Ivory Gull and probably 100 other species also occasionally show up. I’ve seen some of them. Those are Zebras. I’d never count on seeing any of them again in SoCal. Mountain Plover spend every winter here; just not at Malibu. It’s a horse.
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Make sure you get your 2 cents in! Garry George calls this a Wilson’s Plover because of range, Tom Benson of San Bernardino calls it a Mountain (occasional to coast during migration). Your comment?
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I hope you’re joking about Garry’s comment, as Garry is a very good and experienced birder. It doesn’t look anything like a Wilson’s – no breast band for starters – and it’s way out of range for a Wilson’s, an east & gulf coast bird. Mountain Plovers are regular wintering birds within 60 miles of the lagoon, found yearly in the eastern Antelope Valley. “Occasional” is a birding frequency term, meaning VERY occasional, like “hardly ever.”
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