How does 1,422 miles sound for a migration distance? Of course this assumes this specific individual bird in question flies in a straight line between Bismarck, North Dakota and Bald Point State Park on the Gulf Coast in Florida (doubtful).

Yesterday I heard from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The Piping Plover I photographed two weeks ago on that Florida beach is at least eight years old! Given very few Piping Plovers survive past five years, this bird is a senior citizen just like me. Remember, the Piping Plover is a “threatened and endangered” bird species. (my original post)

Here is some text from the email sent to me by the US Fish and Wildlife Service:

“Thank you for reporting the banded piping plover! T14 was banded as an adult on the Missouri River near Bismarck, ND June 2014.  We observed it on the breeding grounds through 2018 in a similar area.  It was first observed at Bald Point State Park in Florida its first winter after banding.”

And two more photographs of this individual Piping Plover … one new, and one showing the band. Hearing from the US Fish and Wildlife Service made my day. Even Molly who is not a birder was impressed with both the age of this little guy, and the length of its trips.

Many of you who read this blog also photograph birds. Should you ever notice while out birding that the individual bird you have found is banded, Try to get a good image of the bird including the band (hard) and then Google the bird’s name and include the words “banded” and “report”. Such was the case for me this morning a few minutes after sunrise on a remote Gulf of Mexico Beach in the Florida Panhandle. Molly and I were stopped on our way back to Minnesota, renting an AirBnB near Bald Point State Park. In fact I was the only person in the park early this morning. Perhaps the locals thought 35F and sunny was too cold (I was wearing shorts and a ski parka … Minnesota high fashion).

While I was looking for American Oystercatchers which would be a lifer for me, what I first found was a Piping Plover. This Great Lakes population of this species is endangered, and in fact I have only seen these plovers twice in my life. However, even with winter plumage, I was pretty certain a Piping Plover was walking down the beach towards me. Like always I was out on the big sand flats revealed by the morning low tide. The low angle of the sun allowed me to take this image, which includes its banding code, T14. I have submitted a birding report and this pic to the US Fish and Wildlife Service via the Piping Plover Page.

More Piping Plover Images

As I mentioned I was looking for American Oystercatchers. While my first trip to the beach did not yield a sighting, my second visit was successful. I first saw an Eurasian Oystercatcher while bike touring in Scotland. Not understanding what I was seeing, I named this bird species “Funky Petit Penguin Bird” till I could make proper identification.

American Oystercatcher (Willet in one pic’s background)