Scott Mayson

Occupies various coastal habitats – sandy, pebble or silty shores, estuaries and river deltas with scarcely vegetated water fringes. It also occurs in saline environments away from the coast (Keller et al. 2020).  Its range extends from coastal W & N Africa and W Europe through E Europe, Middle East, C & S Asia to Japan. Eurasian-African/Asian migrant, locally resident in W Europe and the Mediterranean region. European migratory populations overwinter in S Europe and Africa (N of equator) (del Hoyo et al. 2021).

Season of assessment

B

Population trendDecreasing
Population size
(min-max, best estimate)		34900-67400,46600
Red List categoryLC
Franks, S., Fiedler, W., Arizaga, J., Jiguet, F., Nikolov, B., van der Jeugd, Ambrosini, R, Aizpurua, O., Bairlein, F., Clark, J., Fattorini, N, Hammond, M., Higgins, D, Levering, H., Skellorn, W., Spina, F, Thorup, K. Walker, J., Woodward, I. and Baillie, S.R. (1) (2022) Online Atlas of the movements of European bird populations. https://migrationatlas.org EURING/CMS (1) Principal investigator
Map

Overall Connectivity for Kentish Plover

General movement pattern in migratory populations is NE-SW. Birds breeding in W Europe winter locally or further SW in Africa as far S as Guinea-Bissau. The Danish-breeding population is found along the coasts of W Europe during migration and winter. C European breeders migrate mainly towards W & SW Europe and the western Mediterranean (encountered as far S as Morocco). Birds breeding in SC Europe (Italy) are mainly short-distance migrants, the longest being to NW Africa. Birds from the W Black Sea region breeding population move to C or E Mediterranean. An adult marked in Turkey has been found wintering in E Sahel. Most resident populations occur in W & S Europe.

Most resident populations occur in W & S Europe.

Recoveries by Condition for Kentish Plover

Most recoveries were either in the mid-1980s to early 2000s or after 2010. They are mostly in the breeding season, peaking in May-Jun (c. 42% in total). Most are in W (53%), followed by SC (25%) and SW Europe (16%). The percentage of recoveries of dead birds has decreased markedly over time: from 31% before1961 to less than 1% after 1991. This reflects an increase in recaptures, especially colour ring resightings; about 3% of the resightings now come from metal-ring reading in the field. Shooting was an important factor in the past (19% of all recoveries before 1961).

Annual Movements for Kentish Plover

Post-breeding dispersal starts in late Jun – in W Europe many birds move to the Waddensee to moult first (del Hoyo et al. 2021); autumn migration is most evident in Sep. Many birds overwinter in SW & W Europe, others continue S to winter in W Africa (Dec-Jan, Guinea-Bissau).

SW & SC European populations largely stay in the western and central Mediterranean respectively, some birds taking longer routes – birds marked in Italy have been found wintering in Morocco (Jan) and Senegal  (Spina & Volponi 2008). Birds from the C European inland populations are encountered mostly in spring (Mar) in NW Africa & N Italy. Birds from the C European inland populations are found in spring (Mar) in NW Africa & N Italy. W Black Sea breeders return as early as Aug in Malta and there are Oct records from Tunisia & Cyprus; with wintering (Dec-Feb) records in Italy, Cyprus and Israel (Delany et al. 2009). In Europe, birds reach the breeding grounds mainly in Mar-Apr, although some birds arrive in May.

Connectivity by Month by Region for Kentish Plover

Dispersal movements after the breeding season start in mid-summer. Autumn migration is intensive in early autumn - many birds from W overwinter locally or in the Iberian Peninsula, some S to W Africa. Birds breeding in SW & SC Europe mainly make within-region movements, some reaching NW Africa (mid-winter record). Inland populations of Hungary and Austria are encountered in late summer and early autumn along the N Adriatic coasts, some of them staying there to overwinter, with others continuing S (early winter record in Sicily); there are early spring records in Morocco and Italy. Birds from the western Black Sea population are encountered in C and E Mediterranean as early as late summer, but mostly from mid-autumn. Most birds reach their breeding grounds in Europe in early to mid-spring.

Most birds reach back their breeding grounds in Europe early to mid-spring.

Boris Nikolov

References

Statistics Map
N records N individuals N recoveries
Mapped data*
Total available data
*Mapped data include only distant (>= 50 km) recoveries
References Map
2009 . An Atlas of Wader Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia. Wetlands International, Wageningen, The NetherlandsEditor(s): Delany, S., Scott, D., Dodman, T. & Stroud, D.
2020 . European Breeding Bird Atlas 2: Distribution, Abundance and Change. European Bird Census Council & Lynx Edicions, BarcelonaEditor(s): Keller, V., S. Herrando, P. Voříšek, et al.
del Hoyo, J., P. Wiersma, G. M. Kirwan, N. Collar, P. F. D. Boesman, and C. J. Sharpe2021 . Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), version 1.1. In Birds of the World Link to Article (DOI: https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.kenplo1.01.1) Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA
Spina, F., Volponi, S. 2008 . Atlante della Migrazione degli Uccelli in Italia. 2. Passeriformi. Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, Instituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Tipografia SCR-Roma

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