Common ringed plovers are small waders, which suddenly seem to appear on an apparently empty beach; brightly patterned, yet not conspicuous. A species of the sub-arctic coastline, they breed on wide, sandy flats known as Machair in the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland, where they perform a curious slow-winged ‘butterfly’ flight accompanied by a wheezing call.

Numbers declined during the twentieth century, with the rise in seaside recreation, although ringed plovers managed a degree of damage limitation by diversifying inland to reservoirs and gravel pits.

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