Hello Birders, I am trying to investigate the reason why the Ringed Plover often fails to bring up its young in the vicinity of humans. It is a shingle nesting bird. I would expect this to occur when public pressure on the beach is too great. However, often this little bird persists quite near seafront houses and other possibilities I wish to consider. Cats catch the birds or find the nest.
Crows find the nest and eggs.
Foxes get the nest and young. Does anybody know of any research that has been undertaken on this subject, or failing this, has anybody got any anecdotal observations. The nests are difficult to discover, but sometimes small indentations in the shingle are all that remains of an attempted nest site. Often, the first indication is the feigning behaviour when the Ringed Plover attempts to distract anybody or any animal that ventures too close. Ringed Plover nests are susceptible to many predators, but fox, badger and carrion crows are probably the major problems here at Rye Harbour.