(extracted with permission from 2007 Carmarthenshire Bird Club Report)

It is amazing how the Carmarthenshire population of Little Ringed Plover can survive, as the rivers of the Tywi catchment area seem to flood at a moments notice, sweeping across the shingle banks where they breed. In 2007 conditions were worse than normal as the floods came on two separate occasions destroying nearly all the attempts at nesting.

This is not their only anxiety as the nests and chicks also have to survive a Russian-roulette of pounding hooves as cattle trample unhindered across the shingle banks. When you add the natural hazards of corvid predation, as well as the illegal extraction of gravel that occurs here and there it all leads to a very precarious existence.

Yet survive they do. In 2004 a survey commissioned by the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), counted 62 breeding pairs in the Tywi catchment, which would also include the Cothi and Bran; whereas in 2007 during the BTO survey this had increased to 76 pairs. These were recorded in a total of seven, 10-km squares (i.e. 22 tetrads – 2 x 2 km squares – see map). The bulk of the pairs were located along the Tywi (60 or so); the remainder occurred on two main tributaries, the Cothi and the Bran. Since first nesting in 1984 near Dinefwr Ponds the rapidly increasing population of this species in the county (particularly over the last 4 years) has been extremely noteworthy culminating in the 76 pairs recorded in 2007.

Little Ringed Plovers do not breed on other rivers in the county such as the Teifi and Loughor although there are some shingle shoals present.  These are not extensive enough or sufficiently open and free from encroaching vegetation for nesting. The exact habitat requirements along many rivers are scarce and few in Wales meet the species’ requirements. Only certain limited stretches of the rivers Usk, Wye and Severn meet their habitat demands and the total number of pairs on these rivers is smaller than the Tywi population.  Elsewhere in the UK very few breed alongside rivers (most though use artificial sites e.g. sand and gravel pits, quarries and opencast mining locations and the dried margins of shallow water bodies) although the habitat is increasing in Scotland.   Little Ringed Plovers may be limited in their scope to colonise that country’s rivers due to competition with Ringed Plovers and even Oystercatchers.  Currently climatic conditions in Scotland are damper and cooler but the climate change being experienced may change that in the future.

The large population on the Tywi within the UK therefore seems quite distinct and mirrors the situation on the continent where sizeable populations breed on shingle banks particularly along the rivers Loire in France and Warta in Poland.

In comparison with other breeding waders in Carmarthenshire Little Ringed Plovers now seem to be as numerous as common sandpipers (58 pairs 1991 and 52 pairs 1994 along the Tywi) and although one of the rarest breeding waders in the UK it appears today to be one of the most common in the county.  It is almost certainly more numerous now than either lapwing or curlew, both of which have recently undergone severe declines as nesting species.

The Carmarthenshire population of little ringed plovers amounts to around 10% of the UK breeding population, again highlighting the importance of the county for the future prospects of this delightful bird. Having such a large proportion of a Schedule 1 species struggling to survive in such a confined and dangerous area has its own inherent risks, and it would be heartening if more could be done for their protection. The Tywi is scheduled as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for this species but the Cothi and the Bran are not included in that area. Even with this recognition damaging operations still carry on and more direct action is needed to ensure the sustainability of this important bird in Carmarthenshire.