Golden Plover
Scientific Name: Pluvialis apricariaMaltese Name: Pluviera
Family: Plovers and lapwings (Charadriidae)
Occurence: Regular
Breeds in Malta: No
Overview:
he Eurasian Golden Plover, Pluvialis apricaria, is a largish plover. Breeding adults are spotted gold and black on the crown, back and wings. In winter, the black is lost and the plover then has white underparts. Their breeding habitat is moorland and tundra in northernmost parts of Europe and western Asia. They nest on the ground in a dry open area. They are migratory and winter in southern Europe and north Africa. Around 500,000 birds winter in Ireland and Great Britain. These birds forage for food on tundra, fields, beaches and tidal flats. They eat insects and crustaceans.
Status:
REgualr migrant and winter visitor. Occurs both in singles and in flocks. A flock of up to 100 birds used to winter annually at Hal Far but have stopped doing so since the late 1970's due to hunting. Unfortunately, the trapping of Golden Plovers is still legal and very common in Malta. Huge areas of land are transformed into trapping sites and a large amount of Golden Plovers are trapped, day and night. A lot of illegal Golden Plover tape lures can be heard during migration periods.
When to See:
October till March. Mostly from mid October till late December.
Where to See:
Best place to see Golden Plovers migrating is at the Malta International Airport, where they sometimes alight on the runway. May be seen from any other place, flying over, during migration. Due to human disturbance, very rarely seen on Garrigue areas although it is a very suitable habitat.
Photographs:
 |
Golden Plover, MIA, 12th December 2010 |
 |
 |
| Migrating flock of Golden Plovers, MIA, 12th December 2010 | Golden Plover, Ghadira Nature Reserve, 19th December 2009 |
Back to Bird Species List