Rising Tide Images
Mud Probing Kolea
This Pacific golden plover has been probing the rain soaked ground for earthworms and insects. There is mud on its bill and head. But my favorite detail is the adorable eyelashes. (View large.)
Camouflaged for ground nesting, the Kolea (Pluvialis fulva) annually migrates from breeding grounds in Alaska and Siberia to tropical Pacific islands over thousands of miles of open ocean. After 3 to 4 days and nights of non-stop flying it arrives at the first landfall, Hawaii. A magnificent navigator, it uses the stars and the earth’s magnetic field to find the exact same location each year. This one winters in Hawaii. Some continue on into the southern hemisphere as far as New Zealand.
Mud Probing Kolea
This Pacific golden plover has been probing the rain soaked ground for earthworms and insects. There is mud on its bill and head. But my favorite detail is the adorable eyelashes. (View large.)
Camouflaged for ground nesting, the Kolea (Pluvialis fulva) annually migrates from breeding grounds in Alaska and Siberia to tropical Pacific islands over thousands of miles of open ocean. After 3 to 4 days and nights of non-stop flying it arrives at the first landfall, Hawaii. A magnificent navigator, it uses the stars and the earth’s magnetic field to find the exact same location each year. This one winters in Hawaii. Some continue on into the southern hemisphere as far as New Zealand.