{"id":50908,"date":"2018-02-07T05:43:11","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T12:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=50908"},"modified":"2024-09-04T06:11:30","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T11:11:30","slug":"dancing-wilsons-plover-or-at-least-it-looks-that-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/02\/07\/dancing-wilsons-plover-or-at-least-it-looks-that-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Dancing Wilson&#8217;s Plover &#8211; Or At Least It Looks That Way"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-133802 size-full\" title=\"Wilson's Plover doing the Funky Chicken\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/wilsons-plover-funky-chicken-mia-mcpherson-8794.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/wilsons-plover-funky-chicken-mia-mcpherson-8794.jpg\" alt=\"Wilson's Plover doing the Funky Chicken in the sand at Fort De Soto County Park\" width=\"850\" height=\"607\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20850%20607%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27850%27%20height%3D%27607%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/wilsons-plover-funky-chicken-mia-mcpherson-8794-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/wilsons-plover-funky-chicken-mia-mcpherson-8794-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/wilsons-plover-funky-chicken-mia-mcpherson-8794-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/wilsons-plover-funky-chicken-mia-mcpherson-8794-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/wilsons-plover-funky-chicken-mia-mcpherson-8794-600x428.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/wilsons-plover-funky-chicken-mia-mcpherson-8794-768x548.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/wilsons-plover-funky-chicken-mia-mcpherson-8794-800x571.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/wilsons-plover-funky-chicken-mia-mcpherson-8794.jpg 850w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Wilson&#8217;s Plover doing the Funky Chicken &#8211; Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/400, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm at 400mm, natural light<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Some photos make me laugh out loud the second I see them on my LCD screen or on my monitor at home and this photo is one of them. I believe I even laughed out loud while I was photographing the Wilson&#8217;s Plover on the sands of the north beach of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.friendsofftdesoto.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Fort De Soto County Park<\/span><\/a> in Pinellas County, Florida.<\/p>\n<p>Wilson&#8217;s Plovers are medium sized shorebirds with long legs, stout bills, short necks, brown backs and one thick black or brown chest band and I will never see one in Utah because they are only found along the coasts on ocean beaches, lagoons and salt flats. I saw Wilson&#8217;s Plovers regularly at Fort De Soto and on Honeymoon Island State Park while I lived in Florida.<\/p>\n<p>There are only an estimated 8,600 Wilson&#8217;s Plovers in the U.S. and perhaps another 6000 in Caribbean and in Mexico, their population is in decline and there have been requests to have them federally listed under the Endangered Species Act. The current administration is doing its best to gut the Endangered Species Act which would put many species at risk of extinction including these amazing shorebirds.<\/p>\n<p>On a May morning in 2008 while photographing this Wilson&#8217;s Plover it began to scratch itself with its foot and when I took this photo it looked like the plover was dancing. Of course it wasn&#8217;t but that is how it looked. &#8220;Dance like nobody&#8217;s watching&#8221; always comes to my mind when I view this Wilson&#8217;s Plover photo.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good. Each and every day.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wilsons-plover-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Wilson&#8217;s Plover photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On a May morning in 2008 while photographing this Wilson&#8217;s Plover it began to scratch itself with its foot and when I took this photo it looked like the plover was dancing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"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":false,"_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":[4004,4058,4039,4226,5132,14752,4187,6352,5841,275,4017,4541,274,165,361],"class_list":["post-50908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-wilsons-plovers","tag-adult","tag-anarhynchus-wilsonia","tag-beach","tag-behavior","tag-coastal","tag-coastal-island","tag-dancing-2","tag-declining-population","tag-plover","tag-plovers","tag-sand","tag-scratching","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-spring","tag-wilsons-plover"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-df6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1106,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/10\/16\/shorebirds-of-fort-desoto-the-plovers\/","url_meta":{"origin":50908,"position":0},"title":"Shorebirds of Fort DeSoto &#8211; The Plovers","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 16, 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 &quot;Black-bellied Plovers&quot;","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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/semipalmated-plover-mia-mcpherson-fort-desoto-5817.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/semipalmated-plover-mia-mcpherson-fort-desoto-5817.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15800,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/09\/10\/wilsons-plover-at-sunrise\/","url_meta":{"origin":50908,"position":1},"title":"Wilson&#8217;s Plover at sunrise","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I was covered in mud after laying in the mudflat to photograph this Wilson's Plover and I didn't mind a bit.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wilson's Plover at sunrise","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/wilsons-plover-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3878.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/wilsons-plover-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3878.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/wilsons-plover-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3878.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/wilsons-plover-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-3878.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3074,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/09\/09\/friday-photos-wilsons-plover\/","url_meta":{"origin":50908,"position":2},"title":"Friday Photos &#8211; Wilson&#8217;s Plover","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 9, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This Friday's Photo is that of a Wilson's Plover, a species I very much enjoyed photographing while I lived in Florida.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Florida&quot;","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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/wilsons-plover-feather-mia-mcpherson-6917.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7743,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/03\/03\/wilsons-plover-and-chicks\/","url_meta":{"origin":50908,"position":3},"title":"Wilson&#8217;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 &quot;Birds&quot;","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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/wilsons-plover-chicks-mia-mcpherson-6900.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6765,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/12\/11\/wilsons-plover-in-habitat\/","url_meta":{"origin":50908,"position":4},"title":"Wilson&#8217;s Plover in habitat","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This Wilson's Plover and its mate were being run ragged chasing after the two chicks they had fledged, this adult stopped in front of me where I had laid down in the sugary white sand and rested a few moments in the dried Sea Purslane stalks.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/wilsons-plover-feather-mia-mcpherson-6917.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38988,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/04\/28\/a-camouflaged-wilsons-plover-chick\/","url_meta":{"origin":50908,"position":5},"title":"Camouflaged Wilson&#8217;s Plover Chick","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Where is the Wilson's Plover chick?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wilsons-plover-chick-hidden-mia-mcpherson-2993.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wilsons-plover-chick-hidden-mia-mcpherson-2993.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wilsons-plover-chick-hidden-mia-mcpherson-2993.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/wilsons-plover-chick-hidden-mia-mcpherson-2993.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\/50908","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=50908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50908\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}