Ringed Plover
Ringed Plover are meant to breed on the coast. Human destruction of the environment means they now breed in gravel pits and on industrial sites.
This one has very little orange on its beak so I think it might be an adult in winter plumage:
This one looks like a youngster:
I’ve seen very young ones on Papa Westray this summer:
The youngsters are very endearing and have legs the colour of seaweed:
There are only 5,400 breeding pairs in the UK. The Ringed Plover is on the ‘Red List’ of Birds of Conservation Concern.
I hope that this one will be back to nest in its natural habitat; on an unspoilt coastline.
More Ringed Plovers
Ringed Plover Now that I can identify a few species of waders my next task is to understand whether they are adults… read more
Ringed Plover on the road The Ringed Plovers have an entire beach to strut on but they will insist on cruising down the road. But… read more
A fluffy bundle of feathers I'm driving to the Arctic Tern colony to take some photographs of them bringing fish in to their chicks when… read more
Ringed Plover chick There's a Ringed Plover chick on the rocky beach. Charming, aren't they? I've been here before to photograph them. Last… read more
A scuttling Sandy Laverock The Orkney name for Ringed Plover is Sandy Laverock. It's a beautiful name for a beautiful bird. They appear to… read more
How low can you go? I'd like you to have a look at two of my photographs, taken a minute or two apart. They are… read more
Ground-nesting Sandy Laverock There's a Ringed Plover nest here, next to the footpath, near the coast: I can tell that because, as I… read more
Sandy Laverock This juvenile Ringed Plover is a wonderful bird. In Orkney the Ringed Plover is called Sandy Laverock. The UK conservation… read more
Don’t try that old broken wing trick on me, Sandy Laverock We're walking around the north coast of Papa Westray. It's one of the smaller inhabited islands of the Orkney archipelago.… read more