Canada's First Greater Sand-Plover
On April 12 th , 2025, Richard Thomas spotted a small plover on a sandflat upstream of the Biscay Bay River bridge. His initial thought was "wow, that's incredibly early for a Semipalmated Plover". However, when he put his binoculars up and saw a long-legged, grey-brown plover with a distinct pattern of orange and black around its head, neck, and chest, he knew he was looking at a Sand-Plover. Any species of Sand-Plover would be a huge first-ever record not just for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador but also for Canada, and a mega for North America. Sand-Plover found in Biscay Bay , NL 📷Richard Thomas, April 12, 2025 Richard has experience with Sand-Plovers and recalled the field marks that separate Greater from the Lesser complex. His first thoughts were that the bird was small and had a jizz (a birding term meant to signify the general impression of size and shape) resembling that of a Lesser Sand-Plover. The structure of the bird from its leg length t...