Phil Gower Bird Photography

Plover, Little Ringed

Little ringed plovers were seldom seen in the UK prior to the second world war. Since then, hundreds have arrived and made it their summer home. They come in search of nesting sites in the wide expanses of shingle in river valleys. Since the end of the war, the expansion of the building industry has created numerous gravel pits making such sites more plentiful. Their nests are exposed scrapes in the shingle, but their eggs are camouflaged perfectly, making them virtually invisible.