Identification:

Winter Adult:
Buff yellow spots on black- brown back. Pale stripe over eye. Pale yellow on breast. White belly.

Summer Adult:
Small head, short bill. Yellow, white and black spangled upper parts. White along sides of black belly.

Length: 26-29cm [10-11 1/2ins]. Wingspan: 67- 76cm [26-30ins] Weight: 140-250g [5-9oz] Social : Winter flocks. Status: Secure.

This is a medium sized plover, beautifully patterned in summer and showing delicate and complex colouring in winter.

Winter visitors to Britain, breeding in Northern Europe.
Golden Plovers often mix in fields with Lapwings separating out in flight. Golden Plover have traditional migration and wintering areas that may be used for decades, so long as the habitat is not damaged.

Feeding:
A variety of insects in summer and mainly earthworms in winter.

Nesting:
Shallow scrape lined with scraps of lichen and heather, on ground of heather, grass or bilberry, often in burnt areas.
4eggs: 1 brood: April- July.