Look out! Tiny chicks are about on our beaches!

Our ringed plover project officer Wynona shares stories from a morning’s nest monitoring and how we can help keep them safe on our visit to the beach!

Each day, we make our way along the beach in search of treasure. A steady walk along a linear beach, a beautiful patchwork of shingle and soft sand banked up on the wind against the marram grass. Eyes trained on the upper shore, ears pricked for a telling sound, hands holding binoculars below our gaze in wait of a tiny blur of something in our periphery.

I am talking not about jewels or trinkets, but of one of Norfolk’s charismatic species of beach nesting bird– the ringed plover. And today I am off to check the progress of all those brave birds safeguarding tiny families along the Snettisham to Heacham stretch.

A Common Whelk egg-case tumbles up from the strandline. The grip on my binoculars tightens. False alarm. A cluster of Horn Wrack – another false alarm. And then, a call that pierces the wind. A bird on the mudflats sprinting into view - a male Ringed Plover, alarming with purpose. Another anxious call further up the beach. we follow it, and there, underneath mum, who, grey as a stone, stands, wide-winged – an offering of shelter on an unforgiving beach. Guarding her treasure. Two tiny chicks, too tiny to fly. Nestling up to mum’s familiar warmth against a vast landscape stretched out on the tide.

Ringed plover chick taking shelter under mum. Image credit: Phill Gwilliam. Taken using a telephoto lens so as not to disturb. 

"The first ones of the year here are always special, for us and for those who walk the beach daily, it’s always met with a flurry of emotion. A burst of joy, quickly followed by a pang of worry for their future - these chicks have a journey ahead of them and it’s never an easy one."

I stop watching briefly to scribble a relieved note “2 small chicks. Both parents present” in my notebook against the nest number we gave them on the day the nest was found – at that point, these chicks were tiny lives inside fragile shells. No protection but that offered by the parents who take turns to sit, bravely on an open beach, in wild weather for 25 days. That and a thin strand of blue rope held by waning posts to keep wandering feet from trampling them underfoot. It’s always a wonder to me how they make it to hatching. Then come these puffed up little fluffballs, full of fearless spirit and holding an air of defiance. As if we dare to have doubted for a moment that they would make it out of that egg!

Two ringed plover siblings. Image credit: Phill Gwilliam. Taken using a telephoto lens so as not to disturb. 

For the chicks, the ropes no longer offer much protection. They must find food in the vastness beyond these safe zones. They must learn about tides, learn how to pull unobliging lugworms from deep mud, how to run gracefully on legs three times the length of their body, how to hide from sky hunters, ground prowlers (two and four legged); how to be invisible, how to survive. For another 25 days. And then to learn how to fly.

For now though, these two and others like them, hatching out of the safety of their eggs are on our beaches. Navigating our to-ing and fro-ing, our beach games, and our dog walks- hiding in the tracks left by our feet in the sand. It’s always a nerve-wracking task to head out onto the beach in search of these tiny families, not knowing what we will find when we get there, wondering if they’ve made it through another busy day.

Ringed Plover chick just a few hours old. Image credit: Wynona Legg. Taken during vital nest monitoring work by trained staff. 

Its important to keep your dogs on leads during nesting season (March to end  of August) at Snettisham and Heacham South, Image credit: RSPB.

Two ringed plover siblings. Image credit: Phill Gwilliam. Taken using a telephoto lens so as not to disturb. 

Let’s be proud to have them raising their families on our beaches amongst our own. Let’s help them on their journey to take to the skies and welcome them with full hearts when they return year after year. Let’s work together to keep this bird from vanishing from our cherished Norfolk shores.

You can help chicks like these on your next beach visit by following some simple steps:

1. Put your fur friends on a lead – dogs have a natural instinct to chase, even if just for play and at this stage, the flightless chicks are unable to get out of the way. Chicks can die from shock if chased, even if our dogs mean no harm. If you have a dog with you on your walk, please keep them on short leads during nesting season (March to end of August) to help these chicks make it to adulthood. If you are lucky enough to have a calmer dog that doesn’t chase, please help us by putting them on a lead to encourage others to do the same. By supporting us with this, we can all help to make these beaches a safe place for growing chicks, and you’ll enjoy seeing these special birds on these beaches for years to come!
2. Give young chicks and their parents a wide berth- once hatched, they don’t stay inside the fenced areas! If you can see chicks with adults ahead on the beach, give them a wide berth as you pass so they don’t become separated from mum and dad - this can make them vulnerable to predators like gulls. As the tide drops, parent birds will take their young down to the soft mud to feed on nutritious worms, then as the tide rises again, they will move them up the beach to feed on insects on the upper shore. Ringed plovers and oystercatchers are exceptional parents and never take their eye off their tiny families, steering them away from danger when they need. By giving chicks space, we can help them to keep their chicks safe until their wing feathers catch up with their sense of adventure!
3. Always watch birds from a distance – This way, you will get to watch them behave naturally and enjoy seeing their best beach gymnastics as they tumble about on unsteady legs. When chicks panic, they sit tight to the ground (a little like a stop, drop and roll type situation!) and getting good views of them becomes impossible. If we can hear birds alarm calling, it tells us that we are too close – step back until the alarm calls stop and if you watch carefully, you’ll see the adult birds regroup the chicks and take them to safety.
4. Struggling to see them? Our volunteer beach rangers are out on the beach every day and love to be asked about the birds, to point out tiny chicks or lend some binoculars to get you a better look. So, give our volunteers a wave when you’re out and about, tell us your stories and if you have questions -ask away!

Beach volunteers keeping an eye out for tiny chicks. Image credit: RSPB

Thank you for supporting beach nesting birds!

Follow us on our journey to protect these amazing birds. Join in the conversation on our Facebook and Twitter pages, share your stories and photos and help us speak out about how we can help vulnerable beach nesting birds. 

Tag us: #PloversinPeril #RSPBSnettisham #WatchYourStep

Want to get involved? We need weekend volunteers! Find out more about being a beach ranger volunteer and how to apply here.

Got a question or want to get in touch? Chat to us and have your say about the protection of these birds – your voice matters! Email Wynona.Legg@rspb.org.uk. We would love to hear from you