Semipalmated Plover, male in his striking breeding plumage. The partial webbing between this bird’s toes is visible; it is this partial webbing from which the term “semipalmated” is derived. Denali Highway, Alaska
As I may have mentioned elsewhere, finally obtaining a small boat here on the Chignik opened up new worlds in terms of wildlife viewing in general, birding in particular, fishing and all around exploring. As to the birding, with the greater range the scow provided we immediately began cataloguing species new to us in the drainage, The little Semipalmated Plover, already a favorite from other birding ventures, was among the first of these new-to-us Chignik species.
Semipalmated Plover juveniles, Chignik River, July 24, 2020. These plovers typically occurred on river gravel bars and shorelines in mixed flocks of Western and Least Sandpipers
As we didn’t acquire our scow until July, there is still documentation to be done. The Semipalmateds we encountered appeared to all be juveniles. According to Herbert K. Job, writing in Birds of America*, this isn’t unusual. He reported flocks of nothing but young birds migrating into the Atlantic seaboard in September, a month or so after adults had arrived from their northern breeding grounds. At any rate, we took lots of photos, searched through them carefully on the large screen of our computer, and found no adults. This coming spring, we will begin early searching the various shorelines, river bars and rocky islands for signs of adult birds and breeding.
If you didn’t know they were there, you’d probably miss them, but even when you feel certain a nest may be nearby, the eggs can be quite difficult to locate. The nest itself is a barely discernible depression lined with twigs and leaves. The precocial young will leave the nest upon hatching and although the parents will stay close, the little ones will find their own food. There may be nothing in the avian world quite so cute as the scurrying ping-pong ball of fluff a young shore peep resembles. Approximately four weeks after hatching, they’ll be able to fly. (Denali Highway, Alaska)
Semipalmated plover Charadrius semipalmatus
Order: Charadriiformes
Charadrius: Latin derived from Greek kharadrios for a bird found in river valleys
semipalmatus: Latin – semi = half + palmatus = palm – referring to this species’ partly webbed feet
Status at Chignik Lake: Occasional to Common in Summer; Status in Spring uncertain; Absent in Fall and Winter
David Narver, Birds of the Chignik River Drainage, summers 1960-63: Occasional
Alaska Peninsula and Becharof National Wildlife Refuge Bird List, 2010:
Uncommon in Spring, Summer & Fall; Not Reported in Winter
Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve Bird List: Present
able of Contents and Complete List of Birds of Chignik Lake
© Photographs, images and text by Jack Donachy unless otherwise noted.
For a list of reference materials used in this project, see: Birds of Chignik Lake
CutterLight 
Another beautiful bird. How big is this plover? Here in Australia, we have large plovers the size of large pigeon or small seagull. There are also small plovers about the size of a swallow.
In North America there are three native plovers in genus Pluvialis and six in genus Charadrius for a total of nine.They range in size from the 11.5 inch Black-bellies Plover to the 6.25 inch Snow Plover. The Semipalmated Plover in this article averages about 7.75 inches. Your query sent me to Wikipedia where I found the Masked Lapwing, also known as the Masked Plover, of Australia. At up to 15″, it would dwarf even the Black-bellied Plover of North America, however the Masked Lapwing belongs to a different subfamily and genus from true plovers. Cool looking bird though. Apparently there are different races of Masked Lapwings in different regions of Australia. I always enjoy it when a reader prompts further investigation, so thanks!