Charadrius semipalmatus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The semipalmated plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) is a small plover. Charadrius is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek kharadrios a bird found in ravines and river valleys (kharadra, "ravine"). The specific semipalmatus is Latin and comes from semi, "half" and palma, "palm". Like the English name, this refers to its only partially webbed feet.
This species weighs a mean 47.4 g (1.7 oz.) for males and 46.1 g (1.6 oz.) for females, with body masses ranging from 37.6-54.7 g (1.3-1.9 oz.). and measures 17–19 cm (6.7–7.5 in) in length with a 12–13 cm (4.7–5.1 in) mean wing length. Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes and a short orange and black bill.
Their breeding habitat is open ground on beaches or flats across northern Canada and Alaska. They nest on the ground in an open area with little or no plant growth. They are migratory and winter in coastal areas of the southern United States, the Caribbean and much of South America. They are extremely rare... Wikipedia →
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Semipalmated Plover sighting in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a given day, based on 66 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 78th most-seen of the 145 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Semipalmated Plover in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Semipalmated Plover sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
28th of 52
Of the 52 parks where we can rate Semipalmated Plover sightings, Cape Breton Highlands National Park ranks 28th at about 10%. The best odds are in Isla del Coco National Park (Costa Rica, about 70%), Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 40%) and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (Canada, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Charadriiformes
The closest relatives of the Semipalmated Plover that you can see in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (order Charadriiformes, Shorebirds and Allies) are American Herring Gull (about 70%), Great Black-backed Gull (about 50%) and Black Guillemot (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Semipalmated Plover is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (66 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
