Common Ringed Plover on Bellevue Beach

 This bird was not even on the radar. I was excited to join Alison Mews, Frank and Heather King and Alvan Buckley for the trek to the mussel beds at the far end of Bellevue Beach. I wasn't too excited about the walk in the sand.

 Well, it wasn't bad at all as we stayed on the grassy trail most of the way. Had I thought we would see a Common Ringed Plover, I might have been able to muster a hop and a skip along the way.

 Anticipating seeing the Red Knot, I planted my feet and started to scan the small birds in the distance. It took a while to focus on that distance and the size of these shorebirds.

 Even before my eyes adjusted, Alvan had his scope set up and quickly uttered an "uh oh." My ears perked up, and we all closed in on Alvan. Within seconds, he identified the Common Ringed Plover sitting on the farthermost exposed strip of sand.

We all hoped as the tide came in we would find the bird flying in closer to us. That didn't happen, but we did get good looks through the scope and captured a few pictures to remember the sighting.