European Golden Plover

European Golden Plover

Pluvialis apricaria Heiðlóa

Golden Plover were present in the survey area on almost all surveys between 3rd April and 25th October, albeit in low numbers (< 50 birds) before 2nd August. During August, September and October, the mudflats were well used by Golden Plovers, especially during low tides – there were greater than 600 birds present on each low tide survey throughout September, and there was a peak of 950 birds on 9th October. Golden Plover were distributed throughout the six subsites, with largest numbers recorded in Kistufjörđur (Est 2) and Grjóteyrarklakkur (Est 1) during low tides, and Ásgarđshöfđi (Est 4) during rising tide surveys. The greatly reduced numbers during rising tide surveys suggest the birds must be exploiting terrestrial foraging areas at this tidal stage.

Number of individuals 1000 800 600 400 200 0 Low-tide Rising-tide

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Week number and month

Figure 3-66.Number of Pluvialis apricaria recorded during weekly low tide and rising tide estuarine surveys in the Andakíll Ramsar site between 12th March and 25th October 2017.

(a) Low tide (b) Rising tide

Figure 3-67. Relative abundance of Pluvialis apricaria during weekly (a) low tide and (b) rising tide estuarine surveys in the Andakíll Ramsar site between 12th March and 25th October 2017. Dots are randomly positioned within each subsite. While each dot refers to a single bird, it refers to the bird’s presence in that subsite only, and not the bird’s actual location.

(a) Spring (b) Autumn

Figure 3-68. Relative abundance during (a) spring and (b) autumn of Pluvialis apricaria counted on twiceweekly estuarine surveys in the Andakíll Ramsar site in 2017. Spring = 12th March - 7th June; Autumn = 12

th June - 25th

October. The number of dots in each subsite refers to the total number of bird-records (from weekly low tide and rising tide surveys) in spring and autumn, adjusted for the length of the season, and reflects the species’ abundance in that season, not the specific location of birds.

Figure 3-69. Proportion of foraging and roosting Pluvialis apricaria during weekly (a) low tide and (b) rising tide estuarine surveys in six subsites in the Andakíll Ramsar site between 12th March and 25th October 2017.

(a) Low tide (b) Rising tide