Golden
Plover (Pluvialis apricaria)
Motionless
and, at first view, almost invisible against a sunlit moorland, a Golden Plover
is a wonderful sight, the ‘golden’ in its name being well deserved. It is even
more dramatic when in an environment of silence, only broken by its delicate
plaintive whistle.
It
breeds on high moorland and tundra from Iceland right across to Siberia,
including northern Britain, wintering in large flocks in west and southwest
Europe, including Sussex, and the Mediterranean. Its nest is typically a
shallow scrape, lined with pieces of lichen, heather, grass and bilberry, often
in burned areas; hence its presence in such regions on the upland grouse moors.
A
female at rest in the late afternoon sun …
References:
Barfield,
C., (2014). Golden Plover. The Birds of Sussex. Thetford: British Trust
for Ornithology (BTO) Books on behalf of the Sussex Ornithological Society, pp.
239-240.
Nobbs,
J. (1996). Golden Plover. Birds of Sussex. Sussex Ornithological
Society, pp. 241-242.
