The Double-banded Plover and it's Unusual Migration Pattern (Includes 5 Bird Photos)

Australia has many migratory waders which breed in the northern hemisphere. When the weather in the north turns cooler they migrate south, some arriving here to enjoy the Australian summer. However there is one wee bird that likes to do things differently. It's the tiny Double-banded plover, Charadrius bicinctus. Another name for it is the Banded dotterel. Instead of a north - south migration they migrate between east and west travelling from New Zealand to south-eastern Australia, a minimum trip of 1,600 km. Not only that but they come here during the Australian winter. In my area, here in Tasmania, they usually start arriving by March and have all headed back toward New Zealand by early September.

Not all of these plovers visit Australia. There is an estimated population of 50,000 Double-banded plovers in New Zealand and about half are thought to migrate. Much has been learned over the years through bird banding. Birds of the inland areas, of New Zealand's South Island, tend to migrate to Australia. Coastal birds are sedentary. Inland birds from north of New Zealand's Canterbury region tended to move within New Zealand, mostly heading to the coastal areas over winter.

Here are a few photos I've taken of this interesting plover.

_{( All photos, videos, and text on this blog are by @mostly.nature )}

References:

• Pierce, Ray. (1999) Regional patterns of migration in the Banded Dotterel (Cbaradrius bicinctus bicinctus) - Notornis 46: 101-122 Ornithological Society of New Zealand

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