Beautiful Semipalmated Plover at the Beach

Add a touch of nature and whimsy to your bathroom with this wildlife-themed shower curtain! Sandpipers (the smallest ones are known as "peeps") and plovers are some of the most enchanting--and boldest--shorebirds you'll encounter in Metro Vancouver. The smaller they are, the more you'll see them in large flocks, feeding along the shores. Clockwise from top left: Semipalmated Plover, Sanderling, Killdeer, and Dunlin -- all shorebirds that I photographed at Boundary Bay Regional Park, an internationally recognized Important Bird Area (IBA) for thousands of migratory and resident birds, and a spectacular place to be in the fall and winter.