How do you know it's a Ringed Plover?

juvenile Ringed Plover, Startops reservoir

Tring reservoirs: I fancied some easy birding for half an hour this morning, so took a stroll at the reservoirs under gloomy skies. A juvenile Ringed Plover (RP) had stayed overnight on Startops. The conditions were far from ideal for photography but it was a good opportunity to see the juvenile plumage up close. I’d also bumped into a couple of birders earlier and, whilst pondering all things avian, they’d asked how to separate juvenile Ringed from Little Ringed Plovers. So, here we are, some photographs and notes based on info from the Collins guide.

First up, today’s juvenile and the summer plumage adult from Wilstone, this spring. Juveniles and winter plumage adults do not have the striking orange bill-base or the black head markings and breast-band.

Ringed Plover
Left: juvenile; Right: summer adult

On to a direct comparison with a juvenile Little Ringed Plover (LRP) that I photographed at Startops in the exact same location, on the exact same day in 2013. It’s a shame I couldn’t replicate the sunshine today!

Left: juv Little Ringed Plover; Right: juv Ringed Plover

Overall, the RP is more compact, shorter legged and fuller chested. The jizz is markedly different. The bill of the RP is stout compared to the more slender bill on the LRP. Leg colour differs. And, on the RP there is a prominent white supercilium and any orbital ring is indistinct (and certainly not yellow in juveniles). The opposite is true of the juvenile LRP, where the yellow orbital ring is apparent and the supercilium is barely noticeable. There, you see, easy peasy...!?! Now, did someone mention the possibility of sunshine over the weekend...? Please let it be true....

Left: juv Little Ringed Plover; Right: juv Ringed Plover

Startops reservoirs, NW shoreline

Framed by a Goose! Ringed Plover

When I heard that there was a confiding Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) at Wilstone reservoir yesterday, I thought the week-long photography drought was over. When I heard it was on the jetty at Wilstone reservoir, I was less optimistic. Chances were that the fishermen would beat me to it and the jetty would be royally rid of all bird life.

Still, if you don’t try, you never know. So, within 15 minutes, I’d dressed, gobbled toast, drunk scolding tea and was on my way to Tring. As I drove, I told myself that a Ringed Plover wasn’t worth a speeding ticket or dying for, so, when I got stuck behind one slow car after another, I took it easy.

Once at the reservoir, my heart sank. I could see the fishermen had already set up on the jetty. Pressing on regardless, I got there and all I could find was a family of Greylag Geese and a Pied Wagtail…most assuredly not what I was after. Common Terns and Hirundines were swooping over the water. Nice but, y'know, I'd seen them last week. And the week before that. And the week before that. A Yellow Wagtail flew in and I watched that for a while, gathering food for its young. I hung around the jetty as if it were some magical lure able to conjure up good birds from thin air. I guess I also hoped that somehow I’d missed the little wader and there would be some movement to catch my eye and rescue my day. But, nope, nothing, nada. I was just starting to switch to an alternative plan for the morning when one of the fisherman got up and came over to me. He asked if I’d like to see the Ringed Plover that was snuggled up on the concrete next to where they were fishing! Um, yes please! And, there it was, brilliantly camouflaged, not 4 metres from the fishermen, nestled up against a rift in the stonework. The last place I’d have looked!

The next hour was spent watching and photographing this most fearless of little birds. It didn’t move far and enjoyed the occasional wormy snack provided by the fisherman. At one point, it walked right up to me, to within about 1 metre. Looking into my eyes, it called, “pew”, and walked back a few metres to its cosy concrete nook. Absolutely fantastic!

Although the Greylag Geese had the whole of the reservoir in which to roam, they decided that the 4-5 metres between me and the Plover was the best place to stand. I had some fun playing with the framing.

And, listening for my camera shutter, I think…

By about 11am, the position of the sun was such that every photograph lacked the catch-light in the eye. I decided a bird this confiding was too good an opportunity to walk away from and that I’d return at about 3-4pm when the sun had moved round sufficiently. If the bird had gone by then, so be it, but I would have given it a shot. When I left, the Plover was settled against its concrete nook.

In the intervening hours, apart from a leisurely lunch, I caught up with a couple of Spotted Flycatchers at Startops reservoir. 3pm, I returned to the jetty to find both fishermen and Ringed Plover had gone. C'est la vie...

The contextual shot…