​American Golden Plover

American Golden Plover is an abundant spring migrant, arriving as early as late February. At this time, most of these birds are barely beginning their molt into alternate plumage. By May, when the last of them are passing through the state, many are in full alternate plumage. Fall migrant Golden Plovers are rare, and should be checked carefully to eliminate the possibility of their being Pacific Golden Plovers.

​Snowy Plover

Snowy Plover is a rare nester (one record) and uncommon winterer in the state. It is found strictly coastally, and seems to prefer sandy beaches, while the similar Piping Plover seems equally comfortable on either sand or mud flats. Two major differences allow quick separation between Snowy and Piping: the legs of the Snowy are grayish, while those of Piping are orangish; and the bills of the two birds are of different shapes, long and slender in Snowy, shorter and stubbier, almost parrot-like in Piping.

​Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalms migrate through the state in huge numbers in spring, late summer and fall. Despite old references which state that this species is common in winter, it is actually unknown at that season. Similar Species: Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper.

​Least Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper is common in the state for most of the year, the exception being a short span of about a month from late May to early July. Although Leasts are usually lumped with Westerns and Semis in field guides, they actually seem like smaller versions of Pectorals, or White-rumpeds. With their thin, downcurved bills, brownish mantles and breasts, and picking style of feeding, these birds seem very similar in all but size.

​Curlew Sandpiper*

Curlew Sandpipers are rarities in Louisiana, although it's possible that a few sneak through every year among the millions of shorebirds that stop on migration in the ricefields of the state. The only documented sightings to date are in a narrow window from late April to early May.

​Parastic Jaeger*

The Parasitic Jaeger is rare in Louisiana, although with more winter trips into the Gulf it might prove to be more common than it is now considered. This picture, although blurry, shows the the elongated, spiky tail shape that of the species fairly well.

​Lesser Black-Backed Gull

Although the first Louisiana sighting of this species was not made until 1981, reports of Lesser Black-backed Gulls have increased over the following years to the point where it will soon no longer be classed as a rarity. One or more can usually be found throughout much of the year on the beaches of Cameron Parish. Many field guides note a difficulty in separating 1st year birds of this species from 1st year Herring Gulls, but young Lesser Black-backeds are actually fairly easy to pick out in a flock of young Herrings. The feathers of the back on birds of this age are generally much darker in the centers than in same-aged Herrings, giving a distictinctly darker-backed look to the LBBG. The profile of the perched bird is also much more slender, as the folded wings extend further past the tail than in Herring. Lesser Black-backeds are generally smaller than Herrings. Older age classes have darker gray (not black) mantles than Herring, a shade of gray which is very similar to the mantle color of Laughing Gulls. Identification of this species has been made a little less straightforward by the appearance in Louisiana of birds believed to be Kelp Gulls, and by the assumed hybridisation of Kelp and Herring Gulls on the Chandeleur Islands. Kelp Gulls should have a much blacker back than LBBG. Kelp X Herring Gulls (as well as Great Black-backed X Herring), however, would probably be a close match for Lesser Black-backed.

​Great Black-Backed Gull*

This photo is of a bird filmed on April 14, 1996, on Rutherford Beach, Cameron Parish. As the inner primaries of the bird were in the process of molting, I assume that the bird is roughly a first-summer bird beginning its molt into second-winter plumage.