Plover - Golden (Pluvialis apricaria)

This beautiful and timid bird is usually found in large flocks often across grassland. If they see you approach they will quickly run or fly away. The only way to get close (in most cases) is to use a hide, we used the car as a mobile hide enabling us to get pictures before they were aware of our presence. They are especially striking in their breeding plumage.

They breed on bleak uplands and northern tundra. They feed on beetles, worms and plant material. They are ground nesting birds laying 4 eggs which hatch after 26 days.