Ricardo Matus had banded several birds, both adults and juveniles at this locality and we were excited to find some of his marked birds. Here you can see colored bands and flags. On this visit Ricardo was able to read two band numbers. Several chicks had been banded in January as part of the Wader Quest Magellanic Plover ringing project. It was thought the nesting season had come to an end but our observations suggested continued nesting. We observed a Magellanic Plover intruder aggressively excluded from an apparent territory while another pair exhibited courtship flights.
This species is neither a plover nor a sandpiper, but a unique shorebird classified in its own family the Pluvianellidae. It is scarce and locally distributed breeding inland in extreme southern Chile and Argentina and wintering along the coast. Birdlife International considers this species to be "near threatened" because of its very small population, estimated at fewer than 10,000 birds.
Digiscoped with Panasonic DMC-LX5 | Nikon FieldScope III | 30XWA | hand-held (no adapter)