Photo copyright Mike Wallen
Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula
Willen Lake - 31st July 2005
Photo copyright Mike Wallen
Ringed Plovers breed in small numbers in the county, more commonly at sites in the north of the county, such as Willen Lake and Linford, as well as College Lake.
College Lake - 19th May 2002
Photo copyright Tristan Folland
The bird in the top picture is the left hand bird in the lower picture and has been claimed as being a "Tundra Ringed Plover" Charadrius hiaticula tundrae. According to Shorebirds (Hayman, Marchant and Prater - 1986) this sub species breeds in Scandinavia and the USSR and as such can be expected to migrate seen in the UK during migration. Certainly the darker mantle and smaller size fit with this conclusion. However, there are apparently variations in the nominate species in both size and the relative darkness of the mantle, making confirmation of the exact identification difficult. Perhaps one for the Records Committee to muse over!
Photo courtesy of Tristan Folland