{"id":38988,"date":"2016-04-28T06:31:01","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T12:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=38988"},"modified":"2026-04-28T05:19:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T10:19:15","slug":"a-camouflaged-wilsons-plover-chick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/04\/28\/a-camouflaged-wilsons-plover-chick\/","title":{"rendered":"Camouflaged Wilson’s Plover Chick"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WhereWhere is the Wilson’s Plover chick? – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Many shorebird chicks have have the ability to “disappear” when they feel threatened and in part that is due to their cryptic plumage and being able to blend into their habitat. I knew where this camouflaged Wilson’s Plover chick was when I photographed it from a distance but realized that if I didn’t point out that there was a chick in the image that other people might not even know it was there.<\/p>\n

Can you see the Wilson’s Plover chick? It is near the top of the mound of sand and just to the left of the only green part of the vegetation there.<\/p>\n

\"ThreeThree Wilson’s Plover chicks near some Sea Purslane \u2013 Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Wilson’s Plover<\/span><\/a> chicks will take cover in the vegetation on the beaches and they will also head for the wrack lines, settle in and “disappear”. That is great for protection from predators but it can put the chicks at risk of being stepped on by people walking on the beach, the shell-seekers and dogs that are off leash and running loose.<\/p>\n

\"Wilson'sWilson’s Plover in the golden light of dawn – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/350, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This time of the year people should be paying attention to where they are walking or driving not just for the safety of well camouflaged shorebirds chicks but for chicks of other species that might be on the ground and for the eggs of ground nesting birds too.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Wilson’s Plover photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I knew where this camouflaged Wilson’s Plover chick was when I photographed it from a distance but realized that if I didn’t point out that there was a chick in the image that other people might not even know it was there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,25,704,2000,269],"tags":[17532,4039,5120,8085,4134,4068,5121,9823,9822,683,4071,5841,275,6269,4017,274,6917,361,815],"class_list":["post-38988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-wilsons-plovers","tag-anarhynchus-wilsonia","tag-beach","tag-camouflage","tag-camouflaged","tag-chick","tag-chicks","tag-cryptic-plumage-pattern","tag-disappear","tag-dune","tag-habitat-2","tag-juvenile","tag-plover","tag-plovers","tag-protection","tag-sand","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-vegetation","tag-wilsons-plover","tag-wrack-line"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wilsons-plover-chick-hidden-mia-mcpherson-2993.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-a8Q","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7743,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/03\/03\/wilsons-plover-and-chicks\/","url_meta":{"origin":38988,"position":0},"title":"Wilson’s Plover With Chicks","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I enjoyed my brief, long distance opportunity to photograph and observe these Wilson's Plovers and chicks, it was a small window into their life.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Two Wilson's Plover chicks","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/wilsons-plover-chicks-mia-mcpherson-6900.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/wilsons-plover-chicks-mia-mcpherson-6900.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/wilsons-plover-chicks-mia-mcpherson-6900.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Throughout the year you can see and photograph many different species of Plovers on Fort De Soto\u2019s beaches, tidal lagoons and spartina marshes.","rel":"","context":"In "Black-bellied Plovers"","block_context":{"text":"Black-bellied Plovers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/black-bellied-plovers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Semipalmated Plover in early morning light, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/semipalmated-plover-mia-mcpherson-fort-desoto-5817.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/semipalmated-plover-mia-mcpherson-fort-desoto-5817.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Photo is that of a Wilson's Plover, a species I very much enjoyed photographing while I lived in Florida.","rel":"","context":"In "Florida"","block_context":{"text":"Florida","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/florida\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wilson's Plover in dried Sea Purslane","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/wilsons-plover-feather-mia-mcpherson-6917.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/wilsons-plover-feather-mia-mcpherson-6917.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/wilsons-plover-feather-mia-mcpherson-6917.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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This is one of those images for me because of the tilt of the head of the Wilson's Plover.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Wilson's Plover with an eye on the sky","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/wilsons-plover-mia-mcpherson-eye-on-sky-1144.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/wilsons-plover-mia-mcpherson-eye-on-sky-1144.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/wilsons-plover-mia-mcpherson-eye-on-sky-1144.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/wilsons-plover-mia-mcpherson-eye-on-sky-1144.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}