A Remarkable Migratory Shorebird
Photography by Keith Dennis Brewer
Nature and Wildlife Photographer
Location: Head Pond, Zealand, New Brunswick
Date: October 8, 2026
While photographing nature and wildlife along the shoreline of the Head Pond in Zealand, New Brunswick, I captured an image of a small shorebird that appears to be a juvenile American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica).
The American Golden-Plover is a fascinating migratory bird known for its remarkable long-distance journeys. These birds breed in the Arctic tundra of northern Canada and Alaska before travelling thousands of kilometres south to spend the winter in South America.
Juvenile American Golden-Plovers have a distinctive appearance, with brown and golden-speckled feathers across their backs and wings, a lighter underside, a dark cap, a pale eyebrow, and relatively long legs. Their patterned feathers provide excellent camouflage against muddy shorelines, grasslands, and other natural environments.
One of the most remarkable facts about this species is its migration. Some American Golden-Plovers travel over the Atlantic Ocean during their southward journey, making long flights without stopping. Even more impressive, young birds begin their first migration when they are only a few months old, often after the adults have already departed.
Their diet consists primarily of insects and other small invertebrates, including beetles, flies, worms, spiders, and small crustaceans. They often search for food by running a short distance, stopping to look around, and then picking prey from the ground.
Although American Golden-Plovers breed far north of New Brunswick, migrating birds can use open shorelines, mudflats, agricultural fields, and wetlands as feeding and resting areas during their seasonal journeys.
From a conservation perspective, these birds remind us of the importance of protecting habitats beyond individual communities and provincial borders. A migratory bird may depend on several different ecosystems across multiple countries to complete its annual journey.
For me, wildlife photography is about more than capturing an image. It is an opportunity to observe, learn, and share information about the wildlife that depends on our natural surroundings. Places like the Head Pond in Zealand are worth appreciating and protecting, not only for the wildlife we regularly see but also for the migratory species that may pass through.
Photographed by Keith Dennis Brewer
Nature and Wildlife Photographer
Zealand, New Brunswick, Canada Date: October 8, 2026