I go to Heacham beach on a regular basis to play and pick up rubbish. Every year there is a sign up about plover nesting season which is April to September. I went and learned about plovers, and they are amazing birds. However, I have seen people ignoring the signs and going into the fenced area or having dogs off leads near them. This has upset me, and I wanted to raise awareness of these birds in this article.
The ringed plover is brown above, and white below. It has a white collar and forehead with a black tipped beak. They have bright orange legs, and they are small.
Ringed plovers nest on the open beach. The male will find a perfect place to make the nest. He then spins around kicking out to the side. This makes a divot for the eggs to be in. The female plover will lay up to 4 eggs. These eggs are speckled and look like pebbles.
When the plover chicks hatch, they are camouflaged with the sand to protect them.
Dogs that are roaming free and not on leads can scare them away from the nest. If people are not aware and do not look, they can stand on the nest and eggs.
We can all help the plovers by doing the following things:
- Put dogs on leads. This helps to protect the nest and the chicks who are flightless to begin with.
- Keep your distance from fenced areas.
- Give young chicks and parents a wide berth.
- Watch the birds but from a distance.
I recently contacted RSPB Snettisham as they do a lot of work for the plovers with the ‘Plovers in Peril’ project. Rosie Durrant who works there gave me this quote about plovers and the project they do:
“Ringed plovers are special because they lay their camouflaged eggs among the sand and shingle. Snettisham and Heacham are important nesting beaches for them but they face lots of challenges there – each day they must keep their fragile eggs and flightless chicks safe from high tides, predators, off-lead dogs and the passing feet of unsuspecting walkers. RSPB led project ‘Plovers in Peril’ helps protect them by fencing off nesting areas and sharing information with beach goers, but we can all help! When visiting between March and end of August, please keep dogs on leads and keep your distance from fenced areas. Let’s protect this precious bird on our shores, together!”
So let’s all help these wonderful little plovers have their chicks safely.
To find out more about Plovers in Peril or to volunteer, email: ploversinperil@rspb.org.uk.
11-year-old Amaya Edwards is East Anglia Bylines‘ youngest citizen journalist. She is passionate about wildlife and writes a monthly column for us.
