The caption goes here. 1996 Plovers' battle for territory goes on after rival's death Barely a week goes by without someone telling me a story or asking a question about our entertaining winter visitors, the Pacific golden plovers. Recently, someone asked me if these birds ever form flocks like ruddy turnstones and sanderlings. I said no. I was wrong.
Plovers do form flocks in Hawaii, usually at night, when they sleep.
Such roosting flocks range from a few birds to more than 300. It's hard to imagine these aggressive, territorial birds sleeping together. They do, but it doesn't sound like they get much rest. Pecking and squabbling is common in roosting flocks when one bird gets closer than 4 or so feet of its neighbor. But a behavior I saw this fall took the prize for plover pushiness.