Apparently about 15 minutes after I left on Saturday afternoon 4 Dotterels were seen flying in at Kessingland and after being reported again on Sunday morning I thought I would go and look for them in the afternoon. I soon learnt that 3 of the birds left after being disturbed by one of the many dogs exercised along the beach but one bird remained and was showing well when it was found. This particular bird only flew a few hundred yards whenever a dog came too close but because of the terrain it was difficult to relocate. Following one of these flights I was lucky enough to find it sitting well down in some rough grass where I took the shot above.
The Dotterel is a member of the plover family that is only seen occasionally around here on migration north to its breeding grounds on the Arctic Tundra and on mountains. In the UK it is limited to breeding mainly on mountains in the Scottish highlands and sometimes on a few hills further south where unusually most of the parental duties are carried out by the male because as soon as the eggs are laid the female goes off to find another mate for a second brood. The young are quickly independent and fend for themselves before migrating to North Africa where most of the UK population spend the winter in Morocco. There are only thought to be some 600 breeding males in the UK and even 150 years ago there were only thought to be 50 or so pairs in England so it has never been prolific in numbers. The most notable thing about Dotterels is that they can be very confiding and are often not bothered by humans which can also cause problems as hill walkers can destroy nests. This bird would quite happily walk up to 10 yards away from me and the other assembled watchers and photographers as long as you remained quiet and still.
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