Guest blog by Emily Irving-Witt, Lead little tern warden for Suffolk
Whilst the little tern recovery project staff eagerly await the ‘re-tern’ of one of our rarest breeding birds to Suffolk beaches, we have been busy monitoring the progress of another endangered nesting shorebird, facing similar threats to those of the little tern.
The ringed plover is a characterful wader, with a black-tipped orange beak and short orange legs. They are often seen running along our UK shorelines, dodging beach users enjoying their picnics, and pausing to pick up morsels of food. Ringed plovers nest in a small scrape amongst the sand and shingle and are extremely well camouflaged. Like little terns, they love to make a home on the beaches that holidaymakers and dog walkers also love, which makes life a bit difficult for them!
Ringed plover by Jon Evans
The sad truth is that ringed plovers have recently been put on the ‘red list’, which means that their population has dropped so much that conservationists are really worried about them. A recent survey found just 43 pairs throughout Suffolk with only five chicks known to have fledged in the county. If we want to keep ringed plovers as a feature of our beautiful Suffolk beaches then radical action is required.
Unfortunately, ringed plovers see humans and dogs as predators and the sight of them can scare them off their nest. This leaves their eggs and chicks very vulnerable to real predators or being accidentally trampled.
Ringed plover chick by Oscar Dewhurst
These fascinating little birds are doting parents and will often cleverly feign wing injuries to attempt to draw predators away from their vulnerable family. As I’m sure superman will tell you, it’s a tiring business being a hero, and tough to make time for lunch, so the more our selfless ringed plovers have to protect their families, the harder they find it to feed and look after themselves.
As a part of the EU Life+ funded little tern recovery project, we’ll be putting up rope and electric fences on sites up and down the Suffolk Coast to create safe places for little terns to nest. As we prepare our beaches for the arrival of little terns this summer, it’s great to know that the work we are doing will support ringed plover too.
As Suffolk conservationists continue to brainstorm ideas that will help bring these charming coastal characters back from the brink, there is something we can all do to help.
There are now so few birds along the Suffolk Coast that we want to keep a note of all nesting ringed plovers and, if possible, put small enclosures of rope around their nests. If you see one, please remember to give our delightful shore visitors some space, and make sure you keep dogs on leads until you are well clear of the area. If you see a nest without any protection, let us know and you could give our heroic ringed plovers a run for their money and help to keep these wonderful waders from extinction.
To report a ringed plover sighting on the Suffolk Coast, please contact Emily Irving-Witt, emily.irving-witt@rspb.org.uk.