The term shorebird refers to members of a few different bird families, almost all of which regularly frequent shorelines of various kinds, the overlap of land and water where their general adaptations of long legs and bills routinely come in handy. Not all waterbirds – the most general term possible for birds associating with water – are shorebirds: birds such as herons and egrets, ducks and waterfowl, and gulls and terns all fall outside of the shorebird designation.
Our local selection of shorebirds includes representatives from four taxonomic families: the stilts and avocets (Recurvirostridae), the plovers (Charadriidae), one oystercatcher (Haematopodidae), and a host of widely varying birds in the sandpiper family (Scolopacidae). By my count, we have 23 species of regularly occurring shorebirds in Northeast Marin, which I’ll be covering in two batches. Today, I’ll share the general skinny on shorebirds in our area and present a brief tour of the seven birds of the first three families; a follow-up article discusses the remaining 16 species, all belonging to the diverse sandpiper family.
General Shorebird Tips
Migration: Most of our local shorebirds breed in the far north and then appear here in winter. Actually, a great many of the individual birds pass by on migration with peak numbers in fall as they travel to wintering grounds farther south, though most species discussed here do winter locally in at least some quantity. We also have a few birds that migrate to the US interior for nesting (willet, curlews, godwits) and a few birds that breed around the Bay Area in limited numbers (stilts, avocets, snowy plovers, killdeer, oystercatchers), although all of these species also increase in numbers in winter.
Timing: When we say a shorebird “winters” here, we mean that it spends the breeding season elsewhere, then travels here for the rest of the year. For shorebirds with short Arctic nesting seasons, southbound migrants often start appearing in July, while the last spring migrants trickle northward through May, so “winter” should be understood in the broadest possible sense.
Plumage: Many shorebirds appear in July or August still in breeding plumage and can then be seen again in breeding plumage on their way north in April or May. The degree of difference between winter plumage and breeding plumage varies by species, but it is worth noting that although most of the time you’ll see our shorebirds in their winter plumage, the spring and fall migration periods will turn up some birds that look significantly different. Generally, the photos here show birds in their more familiar winter plumage, unless otherwise noted.
Field Guides: If you want something simple, I recommend the foldout Laws Pocket Guide to Birds of the Sacramento Valley by John Muir Laws or David Allen Sibley’s Birds of the California Coast. As the names suggest, the first inclines towards inland species and the latter towards coastal species; right here in Novato, we’re kind of in between those two poles, making either of these guides about 90% appropriate. If you want more a more complete set of illustrations, get a good comprehensive field guide, like David Allen Sibley’s Birds of Western North America and use it in conjunction with this list. In fact, if you want a condensed, printable, text-only version of this “local shorebirds list,” you can download it right here.
Places: Visit mudflat and tidal wetlands at Rush Creek and especially the Hamilton Wetlands. For a few birds that favor slightly deeper water with vegetated or other non-tidal shorelines you can go to Stafford Lake and the Bahia Lagoon (Novato), Las Gallinas Ponds (San Rafael), and Shollenberger Park (Petaluma). For the rocky shoreline specialists, you’ll need to journey a little farther to the San Rafael Bay Trail from China Camp south, especially at Loch Lomond Marina, or further out to Richardson Bay or the coast, where you can see a few other shorebirds not profiled here.
Family #1: Stilts and Avocets (Recurvirostridae)
These striking black and white birds with long, graceful legs and bills are represented by two local species, similar in many respects but both easy to identify.
American Avocet: Unmistakable with unique upturned bill and reddish head in breeding season. Both males and females have and then lose the red heads, but when side by side the sexes can be distinguished by bill curvature – females have curvier bills. Avocets nest in low numbers at Rush Creek, Petaluma’s Shollenberger Park, and scattered other locations, ideally with sheltered little islands surrounded by consistent but shallow water. Fairly common in summer; abundant in winter
Black-necked Stilt: Equally unmistakable with bright red legs, elegant black and white plumage, and a long straight bill. These social, vocal birds share habitat, nesting sites, and seasonality of avocets as described above.
Family #2: Plovers (Charadriidae)
Small-headed, relatively plump and thick-necked birds with only medium length legs, stubby little bills, and foraging habits of running and pecking at prey they find by sight.
Black-bellied Plover: Our largest plover is easily overlooked, with very plain winter plumage, but you can see their distinctive black bellies when they arrive in July and August, and again before they leave in April. Black-bellies use both rocky shorelines (San Rafael Bay Trail, Richardson Bay) and more expansive habitats with scattered vegetation (Hamilton Wetlands).
Killdeer: Our most common locally-nesting shorebird, although as with all others here, we do get more in winter, when they are widely found near most wetland habitats. Unique in often nesting in many open habitats far from water, from gravelly hilltops in the middle of nowhere to grassy medians in the middle of the neighborhood. They are easily recognized by two clear bands on their breast and their frequent, strident kill-deer calls. Less bulky, smaller overall, but more upright than black-bellies; markedly bigger than the next two small plovers.
Semipalmated Plover: Fairly common in winter, both on mudflats and coastal beaches. As with other plovers – shorter-legged than stilts, avocets, and the like – you will often see semipalms foraging above the waterline, lurking among vegetation where mudflats transition to upland habitats. Hamilton is the best local site. Like a smaller, cuter killdeer with a single breast band.
Snowy Plover: These birds are most well known for their threatened coastal breeding population, which closes beaches and garners all kinds of legal protection to try to preserve these rather defenseless birds at risk from disturbance by beachgoers, beachgoers’ dogs, higher gull and corvid populations, and other threats. Right here in Novato, a small number of snowy plovers winter at the Hamilton Wetlands. These tiny birds are in same size class as their semipalmated cousins, but do not have a complete breast band. In their breeding plumage, however, you can see the remnant side patches that suggest where a band once was before evolution fitted them more fully for their nesting habitat of unvegetated, shady beaches where whiteness was more effective camouflage than horizontal bands.
Family #3: Oystercatchers (Haematopodidae)
This single-genus family consists of a group of large, dark shorebirds with long, powerful red bills used to smash or pry open mollusks and crustaceans.
Black Oystercatcher: Our only local member of the family (and even for this one we really have to go south a little bit from our Novato territory proper). The typical traits of the family – big, black, with a big red bill – make them easy to identify even at a distance. Oystercatchers favor rocky habitats of the ocean or bayshore, most proximately found along the San Rafael Bay Trail at Loch Lomond Marina and other nearby sites.
Header image: Black-necked Stilts and American Avocets by vladeb.
Another excellent piece – thank you, Jack!
Definitely a good read and informative.