Grey plover call: Krzysztof Deoniziak, Xeno-Canto
Grey plover
Grey plover
What am I?
I am a wading bird.
Where do I come from?
I breed in the high arctic then fly here for the winter from as far as North America and Arctic Siberia.
A bit about me
Like all other plovers, I have a short bill, but the best way to identify me is by my behaviour… I move quite differently to many other wading species, rather than continually probing in the mud, you might see me wandering around and then suddenly ‘pecking’ the ground. This feeding method is known as the ‘run, stop, peck’.
I catch small molluscs, worms, crustaceans and insects; I’m not fussy! I’m also not very sociable, you will most likely see me feeding on my own, who needs a flock?!
Local spotlight
Unfortunately, our numbers are declining. There are around 2000 of us across the Solent during our peak.
Conservation status
I’m a qualifying feature for the Chichester and Langstone Harbours Special Protection Area – that means, when the site was designated, a nationally significant number of us used these awesome coastlines in the winter!
Fun fact
In winter my plumage is rather dull and grey, but in summer I am rather splendid with black and silver spangled wings and a black front all the way from my face to my tail. You may be lucky enough to see this in March before I set off on my spring migration.
