I know this is out of the typical Tweeters range, but I thought I'd pass
this information on in case there are any fellow Californians lurking in
the sidelines, or tickers who want to make a road trip for a potential
Western Hemisphere record. A (very likely) Greater Sand Plover was spotted
near Point Reyes, CA on Monday, and has spent the last four days in the
same location. Due to the similarity and overlap of morphological features
between Mongolian (aka Lesser Sand Plover) and Greater Sand Plover, there
is not definitive proof or agreement that it is a Greater Sand Plover.
However, the consensus of local experts is that the bill is much too large
(among other features) to fit in the range of nominate Mongolian Plover
(the regular visitor to the West Coast). If anyone is interested, you can
e-mail me directly or call the Northern California Bird Box to get
directions and updated info. Happy birding!


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Nicole Michel
MAPS Biologist and MAPSPROG Programmer
Institute for Bird Populations
PO Box 1346
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
(415) 663-2050

nmichel at birdpop.org
www.birdpop.org
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