Species: Snowy Plover

Reporter: Denise Hughes, 850-5885, idahobirder@hotmail.com;

Other Observers: Cheryl Huizinga, 459-4116, bchuizinga@cableone.net;

Jim Holcomb, 466-6030, jnbholcomb@earthlink.net

Date of Observation: August 7, 2006

Date Report Prepared: August 20, 2006

Locality of Observation: Southwest end of the lower dam at Deer Flat Refuge, Riverside Road, Canyon County

Habitat: Man-made reservoir, farmland, rural

Conditions: Clear, breezy

Did you take notes…?

During the observation? ____yes________

After the observation? ___yes___________

The same day? __n/a__________________

Another day?____n/a__________________

Not at all? ___n/a_____________________

Did you consult a field guide or other reference work?

During the observation?_yes___________

Later the same day? _yes______________

Another day? __n/a___________________

Not at all? __n/a______________________

What guide or reference did you consult? National Geographic field guide of North American Birds, Sibley’s Field guide

Description: Small shorebird with dark legs, short neck with dark patches on both sides of neck extending towards chest, white chest and light brown or tannish wings and back.

Behavior: Feeding along shoreline, was with a small group of Western Sandpipers but kept to itself

How and when did you positively identify the bird, and what clinched the identification for you? – My first thought when I saw the bird was that it was a plover, it didn’t act like a sandpiper. The bill was definitely plover like and the dark feathers on the sides of the neck convinced us that we were looking at a Snowy Plover.

How did you eliminate similar species, and what were they?

Piping Plover – we saw dark legs, not in the range of piping plover

Experience with this species: I’ve seen this plover along the California coast, Morro Bay area.

General experience birding: I’ve been birding for approximately 10 years,

Cheryl Huizinga has been birding for 4 years, Jim Holcomb has been birding for 30+ years.

Were photo(s), video, and/or audio obtained by you? No