On the beach

The Green Sandpiper is more common than a Common Sandpiper. It is a shy, plump wader that frequently bobs on the ground and is seen singly or in small groups. Because they are so shy, we know little about them. They are a migrant visitor, passing through, and are mainly seen in March or between July and September.

The Green Sandpiper is a smallish wader, which looks like a large House Martin in flight. It has dark green-brown, almost black, fine speckled upperparts with very contrasting pale underparts, a distinctive white rump, and a dark underwing. It has white above and in front of the eye, but not behind it. The bill is dark and medium length. Its legs are greenish, giving it the 'Green' name. In flight, there is no wing bar, only the obvious white rump as it zig-zags erratically, making a "weet-a-weet-weet" call.

They feed on insects, shrimps and snails in shallow water where there is vegetation nearby, often bobbing along, in a typical sandpiper fashion. Their favourite places to dine are marshes, flooded gravel pits, rivers, and even sewage works!

Green Sandpipers pass though in March and arrive at their breeding grounds in Northern Europe by mid-May. Unusually for a wader, they nest in trees, using old nests of other birds in woodlands, near flowing water. Their 4 eggs hatch after 20 days with both parents sharing the incubation. Although the youngsters can feed themselves, mum and dad care for them until they can fly 28 days later. The return journey to Africa begins in June, with mum going first and dad following a little later with the kids. Not all Green Sandpipers return to Africa with between 500-1000 overwintering in Southern Britain.

The European breeding population is between 330,000 and 800,000 pairs and in the past, the Green Sandpiper has only bred in Britain on a couple of occasions. Their Latin name is 'tringa ochropus' where 'tringa' is from the Ancient Greek 'trungas' for a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle, and 'ochropus' is from 'okhros' meaning 'ochre coloured' with 'pous' for 'foot'. A thrush-sized, white rumped bobbing bird with browny-yellow feet. So... nearly right - apart from the feet.

The Dunlin is our smallest common wader. Outside the breeding season, they gather in large flocks on the coast, sometimes thousands in size, and fly in compact formations showing alternate white and grey as they twist and turn.

A Dunlin is a small, plump, Starling sized bird with a droopy down-turned black bill and a short neck that makes it look round-shouldered. Apart from their black legs, they have a confusingly variable plumage. In the summer, they have a reddish-brown spotted back, grey head and neck and a noticeable black belly patch. While in the winter, they have a grey-brown back, head and neck with a white belly. In between, it can be any mixture of the two - which is why it is a good bird to learn to recognise, as this helps eliminate it from something more unusual. In flight, there is a faint white wing bar and white sides to the rump. Their call is a hoarse "zreep".

A Dunlin feeds by taking insects, such as beetles and fly larvae, crustaceans and worms from the surface of the ground by picking and probing with its bill. It usually feeds in groups, typically doing several jabbing probes before scurrying on. A 'sewing machine' feeding action.

Dunlins breed on upland moors and coastal marshes. The male puts on an aerobatic display by climbing steeply, hovering against the wind and then fluttering or gliding down to the ground with his wings held above his back in a 'V'. The shallow, simple scrape nests are lined with leaves and grass. In May, the female lays 4 eggs which hatch after 21 days. The male usually incubates during the day and the female at night. On the breeding grounds, Dunlin often mix with Golden Plovers who help give warning of danger as their ground level nests are vulnerable to predators. As soon as they hatch, the chicks can feed themselves and are independent of mum and dad. They can fly 20 days later and quickly move out to the coast.

Although some remain here all year, the Dunlin is mainly a winter migrant coming from Northern Europe and Iceland. About 10,000 pairs breed here, mainly in Scotland, and a further 350,000 arrive to overwinter here. The Dunlin is Red listed as numbers have declined dramatically, mainly because of changes in agriculture and loss of breeding moorland to forestry. The dumpy Dunlin can live for up to 19 years.

Their Latin name is 'calidris alpina' where 'calidris' is from the Ancient Greek 'kalidris' for a grey-coloured waterside bird and 'alpina' is from the Latin for 'of high mountains', in this case referring to the Alps - which they have never been near - though they do go to upland moors. The English name 'Dunlin' comes from 'dun' for dull brown, so dull brown-ish. A little more accurate.

You guessed it, a Turnstone actually turns stones when searching for food along the shore. It is a beach comber that is most at home on rocky, seaweed covered coasts and mussel beds. Turnstones can frequently be found on piers and promenades, where tourists drop chips and other morsels. They can become incredibly tame, often running in between people’s feet when feeding!

Turnstones look like scruffy, oversized Ringed Plovers and are well camouflaged amongst the stones. They are a chunky, low slung looking wader with a chestnut and black back, white belly, and a black and white head and breast. They have a short, stout black bill that tapers to a point and orange legs. In flight, they have striking white marks on the wings, back and rump. Their call is a rippling, metallic triple "kit-it-it".

They often search for insects in small groups, by turning stones or probing seaweed with their bill while dodging the waves. They can even lift rocks as big as their own body! By hunting this way, Turnstones find food other waders can't reach. They are seldom stationary, running about the rocks, being opportunist feeders and enjoying a wide variety of food, including mussels, barnacles, periwinkles and crabs.

Turnstones breed on the Northern Europe and Greenland coasts, returning to their breeding grounds in pairs as they are monogamous and pairs may remain together for several breeding seasons. The nest is a scrape in the ground into which 4 eggs are laid which hatch after 22 days. The youngsters can feed themselves but are still cared for by both parents, though mum may leave before they can fly, about 20 days later.

The 50,000 Turnstones seen here in the winter breed in Northern Europe and Greenland. The ones that come from Europe are passage migrants on their way to Africa and the ones from Greenland usually stay, doing their moult before going back again in May. Turnstones are one of the longest lived waders with an average lifespan of 9 years, though they can live for up to 19 years.

Their Latin name is 'arenaria interpres' where 'arenaria' is from the Latin 'arenarius' meaning 'inhabiting sand' and 'interpres' means 'messenger' as the man that named them (Linnaeus) thought that the Swedish word 'tolk' for 'interpreter' was what they used to describe them. In fact, the dialect word they were actually using means 'legs' and they were describing a Redshank. It is funny how scientists in the past wrongly named so many birds. Turnstones in North America are called 'Ruddy Turnstones' as there is a second species, the 'Black Turnstone', which lives on the Pacific coast of North America.

The Grey Plover is a bit of a loner, preferring his own company or being with a few friends when feeding along the beach, only joining others when coming together in a large flock to roost at night. Although a few birds stay during summer, the Grey Plover is really a winter migrant, arriving here from July, peaking in autumn, and leaving from April onwards. You find them along the coast as they prefer sandy or muddy estuaries.

The Grey Plover is a chunky, black, white and grey wader, plumper than the similar Golden Plover. In summer, it has a black belly, neck and face with a silver and black spangled back, a short black bill, and dark grey legs. A white line separates the speckled back and black front, quite the trendy goth about town. In winter, it loses most of its black feathers and has grey spotted upperparts and pale grey underparts. It has easy to see black armpits in flight, a white wing bar and white rump. Their call is a mournful "pee-oo-ee".

They eat insects, worms, and crustaceans, mainly dining alone, often at night, and will defend their area of the shore. They feed by picking food from the surface using the plover run-stop-tilt-stand action - standing and watching, running forward, pecking, then standing still again.

The Grey Plover is the only plover that doesn't breed here. It nests in the Arctic on the northern coasts of Alaska, Canada, and Russia, returning to its breeding ground in May. The nest is a shallow scrape on the ground made by both birds. The female lays 4 eggs in early June, which hatch after 26 days. She leaves the young when they are 12 days old and poor dad has to do all the child-care. The youngsters can fly 45 days later.

About 44,000 Grey Plovers overwinter here between August and April and as many as 70,000 pass through in spring. Their favourite stopping place is the Wash. Males overwinter farther north than females as ladies always moan about being cold, so a high proportion seen in Britain are males with females travelling on to Southern Europe and Africa for a bit of sun. The oldest Grey Plover was over 21, which is amazingly old for such a small bird.

Their Latin name is 'pulvialis squatarola' from the Latin 'pluvia' for 'rain', as people believed they flocked when rain was imminent and because their backs looked like raindrops. The 'squatarola' comes from 'sgatarola' which was a Venetian name for a plover. A chic, Italian, gothic bird then.

The Golden Plover is a medium-sized plover with distinctive gold and black summer plumage. In winter, when the black plumage is replaced by buff, they form large flocks. They fly in a fairly tight formation with rapid, twinkling wingbeats, sparkling white and golden brown, over grazing marshes in the low winter sun.

Golden Plovers are a medium-sized, upright wader with a small round head and short black bill. In summer, a broad white line separates their gold spangled back from their black face, neck and belly. While in winter, they have a duller buff breast and back with a white belly. In flight, they have noticeable white ‘armpits’. There is a very faint wing bar and the wings are slightly longer than the tail. The flight action is rapid and powerful, with regular wingbeats. Their call is a lonely sounding, murmuring "too-ee". Golden Plovers can be confused with Grey Plovers, but in flight the Golden Plover has white armpits whereas the Grey Plover has black armpits. Golden Plovers differ from Lapwings by their sharp, pointed wings (Lapwings have bluntly rounded wings).

They feed on beetles, worms, caterpillars, ants, earwigs, spiders, snails and plant material, often foraging at night with the plover run-stop-tilt-stand action as they chase things on the ground.

Golden Plovers breed on the bleak northern uplands and tundra. In Icelandic folklore, the appearance of the first plover in the country means that spring has arrived. The males display over the heather moorland, chasing each other or doing a switchback flight over their territories, issuing a plaintive display call. In mid-April, both male and female prepare a shallow scrape nest on the ground. The 4 eggs hatch after 26 days and the young are cared for by both parents even though they can feed themselves. They can fly 25 days later and are soon independent. If danger threatens, mum or did will run towards the danger then runaway, sometimes dragging a wing to pretend injury and lure the intruder away from the nest.

Golden Plovers migrate south in winter. The 50,000 pairs that breed in northern Britain move to coastal marshes in large flocks, often mixing with Lapwings. They are joined by Golden Plovers from Iceland on the west coast and by up to a third of the Northern European Plovers on the east coast. As many as 420,000 can be here over winter. The number of Golden Plovers breeding in northern Britain has been declining, mainly from the loss of their moorland breeding grounds by over grazing or planting of forests. Golden Plovers can live for 12 years.

Their Latin name is 'pluvialis apricaria' from the Latin 'pluvia' for 'rain' and 'apricaria' meaning 'to bask in the sun'. People believed that Golden Plovers flocked when rain was imminent. They were also the origin of the Guinness Book of World Records. On 10 November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then the managing director of the Guinness Breweries, went on a shooting party in County Wexford, Ireland. After missing a shot at a Golden Plover, he became involved in an argument over which was the fastest game bird in Europe, the Golden Plover or the Red Grouse. He soon found that it was impossible to confirm this in reference books and that there must be lots of similar questions, so the Guinness Book of World Records was born. It became a best seller within months.

There are two other species of Golden Plover: the American Golden Plover (which breeds in Canada and Alaska and winters in South America), and the Pacific Golden Plover (which breeds in northern Asia and winters in South Asia and Australia). Both species are extremely rare visitors to the UK. They vary in the amount of speckling on their backs and the width of the stripe that borders their summer black.

Little Ringed Plovers are aptly named as they are - little. They first nested here in 1938 and have successfully spread through England and Wales, helped by man-made flooded gravel pits, reservoirs and quarries which provide them with perfect breeding grounds. They are a summer visitor arriving from Central Africa in March and leaving again in August.

Daintier than the Ringed Plover, the Little Ringed Plover has a black bill, pale, creamy-brown legs, and a bright yellow ring around its eye. It is sandy-brown above and white below, with a black chest-band and black ‘bridle’ markings on its head. There is no visible wing bar in flight and they call with a flutey "peeoo". You rarely see them in flocks, except during migration. From a distance, the black bill is easier to tell them apart from a Ringed Plover, rather than the hard to see eye-ring.

Little Ringed Plovers have a similar run-stop-tilt-stand feeding action to other plovers, but it is much more rapid. It feeds on insects and small creatures found in or close to shallow water. Things like spiders, beetles, flies, dragonflies, mayflies, freshwater shrimps, worms, and water snails.

They rarely breed by the sea, preferring shingle banks close to freshwater. Their bold patterning acts as disruptive camouflage, breaking up their outline against the stones. The male makes several scrape nests on the bare ground and displays with slow wing beats in a zigzagging butterfly flight. The female picks one and lays 4 eggs which hatch after 24 days. Both mum and dad incubate the eggs. The youngsters can feed themselves almost immediately and fly 25 days later but remain dependent on mum and dad for a further month. Occasionally, there are two broods. Most Little Ringed Plovers leave their breeding grounds in early July, migrating back to Africa between July and August - a huge journey for something so small! Adults do their moult between July and November, some starting before migrating and finishing once back in their winter grounds.

There are about 1,200 nesting pairs of Little Ringed Plover, mainly found in lowland Britain. The oldest recorded was 9 years old. Those long journeys wear you out.

Their Latin name is 'charadrius dubius' where 'charadrius' is a Latin word for a yellowish bird derived from the Ancient Greek 'kharadrios' for a bird found in river valleys (from 'kharadra' for 'ravine') and 'dubius' is Latin for 'doubtful', since Sonnerat, writing in 1776, thought this bird might be just a variant of the Ringed Plover. He was, of course, completely wrong.

The Ringed Plover differs from the smaller Little Ringed Plover in leg colour, head pattern, and the lack of an obvious yellow eye-ring. Most Ringed Plovers are long distant migrants, passing through here in May and September on their way between Africa and Greenland. A small British population stays here and doesn't move far, and a few others overwinter here, as Africa is a long way to go.

A Ringed Plover is brown, black and white and perfectly camouflaged for hiding on shingle beaches. It has a white forehead with a black band above, a black mask through its eyes, a white collar, and a black chest band. The back is brown and the underparts are white. The bill is yellow with a black tip and their legs are orange. They show a white wing bar in flight and white sides to the tail. Their flight is rapid and low and they call with a pipping "toolip". On the ground, they bob their heads when they spot something suspicious.

Ringed Plovers feed like other plovers with a short run followed by a quick tilt of their body to pick up insects or small creatures on or near the surface - a run-stop-tilt-stand action. They also use a special technique called 'foot-pattering' where they vibrate the mud with a foot to encourage worms to come to the surface. It is thought this mimics raindrops. They like to eat small insects, worms, crustaceans, shrimps, marine snails, beetles and spiders.

Most Ringed Plovers breed in the High Arctic. The British Ringed Plovers are the most southerly population and breed mainly near the coast, though recently some have moved inland to gravel pits to avoid being disturbed by noisy holiday makers. They nest on the ground amongst the stones. Nesting begins in April and the male prepares a scrape, then flies in a zigzag pattern over his territory, putting on a stiff-winged 'butterfly' display flight to attract a mate who lays 3-4 beautifully camouflaged eggs. The happy couple incubate the eggs until they hatch 23 days later. The youngsters feed themselves and can fly after 24 days, quickly becoming independent. Mum and dad will often have two or three broods.

About 5,400 pairs of Ringed Plover breed in Britain, with the largest populations being on the Scottish islands where there are fewer people. Their main threat is nest disturbance by dog walkers and holiday makers on the beach. As many as 70% now breed on nature reserves or protected sites where people are kept away. A further 36,000 Ringed Plovers overwinter here between September and April.

Their Latin name is 'charadrius hiaticula' where 'charadrius' is from the Ancient Greek 'kharadrios' for a bird found in ravines and river valleys ('kharadra' means 'ravine') and 'hiaticula' is from the Latin 'hiatus' for 'cleft' and '-cola' for 'dweller'. A double ravine dweller. I suppose ravines are stony.