Visit Otmoor, Port Meadow and Farmoor to find these busy birds, writes Oxford Ornithological Society’s Keith Clack

When Farmoor 2 opened for trout fishing in the 1970s, I became a regular and although it’s essentially a concrete bowl, I found it very attractive, surrounded as it is largely by woods and distant hills.

Although not a ‘proper’ birder then, I was struck by the diversity of wildlife that the reservoirs attracted and often small birds would appear on the concrete shoreline and feed in the margins before heading off to who knew where.

This type of bird was a puzzle to me and it took a while to recognise some of the different species that dropped in during the period of April to July that I fished there and that it was connected to migration.

One in particular made me think as there appeared to be two sizes of the same bird. Small, rather dumpy with a bold black necklace contrast-ing with their white collar and bib, they looked like tiny waiters as they scuttled around the shoreline.

Were some just the young of the others? Later, of course, I realised that I was watching two completely different species — the Ringed Plover and (surprise) the Little Ringed Plover — not the children of but cousin to!

Little Ringed Plovers (LRPs) first nested in Britain in 1938 at Tring and then reappeared there in 1944 and at a pit in Middlesex.

The growth of the gravel industry did wonders for the population of LRPs; they love the combination of stony shorelines and nearby freshwater, and the Pinkhill scrape at Farmoor immediately became home to one or two pairs. Sadly, now too overgrown, they are no longer breeders.

The Little Ringed Plover, as its name suggests, is usually smaller than its cousin, but some size overlap may cause initial confusion.

LRPs have greyish pink legs and a dark bill. There is a noticeable yellow eye ring and when they fly, no obvious wing bar.

Ringed Plover have a bold yellow bill tipped with black and equally bright yellow legs. When they fly, a bold white wing bar shows well.

During the spring, both are likely to cross our paths, but Ringed Plovers need to push on to their breeding areas. They love saltwater estuaries and coastal shingle where their nest is just a scrape for the wonderfully camouflaged eggs.

Little Ringed Plovers are lovers of freshwater and not so choosy where it is. They seem to delight in semi industrial areas and although gravel pits are tops, ash lagoons, refuse tips, sewage works and old mining sites fit the bill as long as it has freshwater nearby.

So, for the next couple of months check out Port Meadow, Otmoor, Farmoor and similar sites to enjoy those busy plovers. They’re always entertaining.