Tuesday, 12 May 2015

Tundra Ringed Plovers

Lade - 0700hrs - mild, sunny, sw 2,  1500hrs sw 5 - Two goes at the local patch revealed nothing new on the migrant front apart from a singing Willow Warbler and a few Swifts in the morning and two Hobbies in the afternoon, by which time the wind had reverted to type. However, on the beach a flock of 20 Tundra Ringed Plovers was noteworthy, plus 30 Dunlins, mostly in summer plumage.
The garden moth trap held 12 macros of five species.

                                Muslin moth, Lade

Burrowes - 0930hrs - Spent the rest of the morning continuing with the wader survey, this time walking around Burrowes, where a lone pair of Oystercatchers noted. It seemed odd looking back across the lake from a different angle, where the Cormorant colony at the Scott hide end held at least 58 occupied nests. Also noted two Jays, a Whinchat and Peregrine. Two painted lady butterflies were on the wing amongst many small coppers.


                                Cormorant colony, Burrowes

                                Visitor Centre

                                Prostrate Broom

                                Sea Campion

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5 comments:

  1. Derek Faulkner12 May 2015 at 11:07

    Tundra Ringed Plovers??

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  2. Paul Trodd12 May 2015 at 22:40

    Tundra plovers turn up most years about now on the beach down here and are noticeably smaller and slimmer with darker upperparts than the local Ringed Plovers. They`re nearly always in small, tight flocks and rarely stay for long, en-route to breeding in the Scandinavian uplands and along the Arctic coastline east into Siberia. Smart little waders indeed.

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  3. Derek Faulkner13 May 2015 at 05:47

    Well, well, first I've ever heard of them.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ken Churcher13 May 2015 at 10:14

    1st for me too

    ReplyDelete
  5. Paul Trodd13 May 2015 at 13:00

    I too was completely unaware of this race until I moved down here ten years ago. It was the late, great Ray Turley who `introduced` me to Tundra Plovers, and once you`ve got your eye in and know where and when to expect them they`re easy enough to id.

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