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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: Ringed plover

Beach birding, 1

21 Wednesday Sep 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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beach birding, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Charadrius hiaticula, Ringed plover, Sully birds

Ringed plovers are not common on my local patch. In fact, the only place I see them is amongst the rocks on Sully beach, and that’s exactly where these 15 were perched, snoozing, preening, balancing on one spindly looking leg, when I walked along the beach last week.

A Wheatear (right, front) shares the limelight with these 2 Ringed plovers.
A Wheatear (right, front) shares the limelight with these 2 Ringed plovers.

Though their scientific name, Charadrius hiaticula, is a bit of a tongue-twister, they have, according to my Fauna Britannica, some wonderful vernacular names: bull’s-eye (Ireland); dulwilly and grundling (Lancashire); ringlestone (Yorkshire); sand tripper (County Down); shell-turner (Sussex); and wideawake (Somerset), to list just a few.

220921 ringed plovers (2)

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351/365 Sully beach beauties

17 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Dunlin, Ringed plover, Sully beach, Turnstone

It’s been a few weeks since I bussed to Sully and walked back to Penarth so, when I realised today’s high tide was mid morning, I headed off. And I was lucky.

191217 sully birds (1)

When I first arrived at the beach there was a large flock of 21 Ringed plovers flying back and forth over the water, and further west a large flock of Oystercatchers hovered right on the water line.

191217 sully birds (2)

Nearer at hand was a mixed flock of around 35 Turnstones, 13 Ringed plovers and 3 Dunlins, though I couldn’t actually see all the birds at once – they were scuttling back and forth to avoid the rising tide, and frequently disappeared behind small rocks and larger boulders.

191217 sully birds (3)

Dogs and their owners kept flushing the birds, which meant I didn’t manage any good photos, though their frequent flying did allow me to count them more easily.

191217 sully birds (4)

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Friday’s walk 1: along Sully beach

29 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Dunlin, Ringed plover, Sully, Turnstone, Wheatear

I try to time my walks at Sully with a mid-morning high tide – that way I don’t have to get up too early for the bus and I miss the early morning dog walkers. Yesterday was one such day and, though there was a cool wind blowing, it was a lovely day for a long walk. At first, I just sat and scanned the beach and the shoreline and the sea.

180929 Sully birdlife (1)

Several Turnstones were browsing the big deposit of seaweed the tide had rolled in and then this Dunlin flew in to join them.

180929 Sully birdlife (2)

With my bins I followed it in and saw it plop down to join a small number of Ringed plovers by the water’s edge. To me, their dark eye masks make Ringed plovers look like bandits, though very tiny and very cute bandits to be sure.

180929 Sully birdlife (3)

One of the banditos only had one leg but it seemed to be managing to hop along okay. That made me think of Hop-along Cassidy but I was mixing up my masked men – the Lone Ranger was the one who wore the mask and, of course, he was no bandit.

180929 Sully birdlife (4)

At that point a dog and its owner came tootling along the beach, which put all the birds up … and I realised there were, in fact, two Dunlins (the two lower birds in the centre of this photo).

180929 Sully birdlife (5)

I took this opportunity to walk further along the beach and found myself a spot on the stone wall edging a slipway, a location where my birding friend Ceri said he’d seen a large number of waders the previous day. I hadn’t been sitting there long when a Wheatear flew right over my head and on to a boulder about 10 metres in front of me. I’m not sure who got the biggest surprise!

180929 Sully birdlife (6)

A large group of waders flew across from Sully Island and landed on rocks near the water. They were a bit far away to see clearly but most seemed to be Ringed plovers, a group of perhaps 30.

180929 Sully birdlife (7)

People walking along the coastal path above me scared my little Wheatear friend away but then I realised there were actually two birds flitting along the rocks and scrub.

180929 Sully birdlife (8)

They’re such lovely little birds and this one managed to catch itself a snack, which reminded me that it was almost lunchtime, time for me to be moving along on my walk. More tomorrow …

180929 Sully birdlife (9)

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Birding at Kenfig

17 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Glamorgan Bird Club, Golden plover, Kenfig beach, Kenfig National Nature Reserve, Ringed plover, Sanderling, Shag, Sker Rocks, starling, Stonechat

180917 birding at Kenfig (1)

Last Saturday was the monthly Glamorgan Bird Club walk at Kenfig National Nature Reserve on the south Wales coast and this time, as the high tide time worked in perfectly, our large group of 28 enthusiasts headed down the eastern side of the reserve towards Sker.

180917 birding at Kenfig (2)

With so many eyes on the look out as we walked through scrub and across parts of the golf course, we soon had a respectable total of small birds but the highlights came as we got closer to the sea. Near Sker House, a small Starling murmuration swirled about in ever-changing formations before pausing to rest on overhead wires.

180917 birding at Kenfig (3)

Then, we were entertained by a small party of Stonechats, dotting in and out of the vegetation surrounding a wire fence.

180917 birding at Kenfig (4)

Moving on, we had distant views of Curlews and godwits in a field. At first we thought the godwits were Black-tailed but, on closer examination and with the help of reserve ranger Dave’s local knowledge, they were identified as Bar-tailed godwits, not particularly common hereabouts.

180917 birding at Kenfig (5)

The best part of the day for me was at Sker Rocks, where we enjoyed really close views of several wader species. Small flocks of Sanderlings flitted back and forth from the rocks to the beach and, at times, were less than 20 feet away, scurrying hurriedly along the sand, poking about for food. A single Ringed plover sat alone by the water’s edge for a time, and then was replaced by four beautifully marked Golden plovers. (I got some reasonable photos of the Sanderlings and Golden plovers so will post separate blogs on them.)

180917 birding at Kenfig (6)180917 birding at Kenfig (7)180917 birding at Kenfig (8)

As we headed back inland, one of our younger birders, Tate, spotted a Shag fishing very close to the rocks – not a bird that’s seen much locally so a nice sighting.

180917 birding at Kenfig (10)

And some of us headed down to Kenfig Pool for a quick look but there wasn’t anything of note, and fishermen sitting much closer to the bird hide than they’re supposed to meant that wasn’t worth visiting.

180917 birding at Kenfig (9)

It was an excellent day’s birding and my species total was a very respectable 48: Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Grey Heron, Shag, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Coot, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, European Golden Plover, Sanderling, Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew, Turnstone, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Magpie, Jay, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Skylark, Swallow, House Martin, Cetti’s Warbler, Wren, Starling, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, European Stonechat, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Goldfinch, Linnet, Bullfinch, and Reed Bunting.
Also seen/heard but not by me: Sand Martin, Common Buzzard, Tufted Duck, Raven, Common Chiffchaff, Northern Wheatear, and Water Rail (this last one was a shame, as it would’ve been a year tick for me, but them’s the birding breaks!).

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Two go cuckoo at Camber

25 Thursday May 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, coastal fauna, nature, walks

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, Black-headed gull, Common tern, Gadwall, Lapwing, Marsh harrier, Oystercatchers, Ringed plover, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, sheep, Shelduck, Skylark, Sussex Wildlife Trust guided walk

I celebrated my birthday, with my friend Jill, with a quick morning romp around the bird hides at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, followed by an afternoon Sussex Wildlife Trust guided walk around the inland part of the reserve, including a peek inside the normally locked Camber Castle. And what a superb day it was!

170524 Rye Harbour fauna (10)

I’ve already blogged about one of the highlights, the gorgeous Avocets and their chicks; another was hearing, and catching a fleeting glimpse of my very first Cuckoo. Here are a few more (not so crisp) photos of the wonderful (but mostly distant) wildlife we saw: Common terns, Skylark, Oystercatchers and Dunlin, Black-headed gull, Ringed plover, Gadwall and Shelduck, Lapwing and a Pied wagtail, Marsh harrier, and a number 72; plus, not pictured, Redshank, Coot, Cormorant, Tufted duck, Mallard, Little ringed plover, Grey heron, Kestrel and Whitethroat, as well as the more common birds. A birthday to remember!

170524 Rye Harbour fauna (1)
170524 Rye Harbour fauna (2)
170524 Rye Harbour fauna (3)
170524 Rye Harbour fauna (4)
170524 Rye Harbour fauna (5)
170524 Rye Harbour fauna (6)
170524 Rye Harbour fauna (7)
170524 Rye Harbour fauna (8)
170524 Rye Harbour fauna (9)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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