Scientific name:

Pluvialis apricaria

About:

A large plover, just a little smaller than Lapwing with which it often gathers in large numbers on farmland during the winter. Grey spangled with golden above.

How to identify:

<p>When mixed flocks fly, can be told at a great distance from Lapwings by having sharp pointed wings. Told from the larger Grey Plover by the golden, not silver spangling and by the more delicate bill.</p>

Where:

Nests on moorlands, spends the winter on farmland and on muddy estuaries around the coast, including Rye Harbour nature reserve

Fantastic facts:

There are two other species of golden plover: the american golden plover and the pacific golden plover. Both are extremely rare visitors to Britain each year.