Eternal Glory

It has finally happened.  I have tied the Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive's Midway Atoll List.  Well, kinda.  I have a very sketchy tick.  My snipe is still unidentified, causing me great distress.  Still, I have a month to go, and I'm counting on a few more species to arrive by Feb.  In any case, as you may have guessed, I got an Island Bird today.  Black-bellied Plover.  I found it while walking along the beach on Eastern Island.  It really stood out after staring at hundreds of golden-plovers over the last 2 months.  I have officially advanced in the Global Birder Ranking System (GBRS).  What a proud day for birders everywhere.

Felonious Jive: 39 species

Green-winged Teal
Laysan Duck
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon
Laysan Albatross
Black-footed Albatross
Short-tailed Albatross
Bonin Petrel
Bulwer's Petrel
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Christmas Shearwater
Tristram's Storm-Petrel
Red-footed Booby
Brown Booby
Masked Booby
Lesser Frigatebird
Great Frigatebird
White-tailed Tropicbird
Red-tailed Tropicbird
Cattle Egret
Pacific Golden-Plover
Whimbrel (Siberian and American)
Bristle-thighed Curlew
Grey-tailed Tattler
Wandering Tattler
Ruddy Turnstone
Glaucous Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Little Tern
Least Tern
Sooty Tern
Grey-backed Tern
Brown Noddy
Fairy Tern
Black Noddy
Common Myna
Canary


Handsome Dan: 39 species


Brant
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Laysan Duck
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Greater Scaup
Laysan Albatross
Black-footed Albatross
Short-tailed Albatross
Bonin Petrel
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Red-footed Booby
Brown Booby
Masked Booby
Great Frigatebird
White-tailed Tropicbird
Red-tailed Tropicbird
Cattle Egret
Black-bellied Plover
Pacific Golden-Plover
Bristle-thighed Curlew
Grey-tailed Tattler
Wandering Tattler
Snipe sp. (probably Common)
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Peregrine Falcon
Short Eared Owl
Brown Noddy
Fairy Tern
Black Noddy
Common Myna
Canary

The Black-bellied Plover, proving that it's a Black-bellied Plover.

Cattle Egrets.  Insufferable pests.  We also came across this nest today.  Aren't they cute?  Too bad they are slated for destruction.