pluvialis (rain) squatarola (the gray plover)
Monday, May 26, 1980 — 5:45 pm
Bay Park, Michigan — just south of Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron
Within half a mile of Lake Huron, my family and I saw a large flock of birds milling around behind a tractor that was plowing a large dirt field. Among the mixed flock of Ring-billed Gulls and Killdeers and shorebirds, I discovered two lifers. The Black-bellied Plovers were beautiful, with a striking black and white pattern. They appeared to be picking at insects that were stirred up by the tractor.