The Grey Plover aka the Black Bellied Plover in the USA is a reasonably common over-wintering bird on the River Exe Estuary. I am always interested to see them because they are a bird I am familiar with in a much more exotic environment, namely the beaches of Southern Florida. Have a look here at a photo taken on the beach near Ft Lauderdale in early April last year In breeding plumage they are much more striking with a solid black breast, Here in the winter they are seen as a heavily speckled black and brownish bird on a white background. They have black legs and a solid looking beak. Today at Turf Lock at the end of the Exeter Ship Canal there were a few on the newly exposed mud flats just as the tide turned. I managed to creep quite close to this one. It was perched on the remains of some kind of ancient shores-edge structure and braved the wind and waves with little problem. From time to time it would take to the air and expose the black patch under the shoulder.
I thought it was interesting when I downloaded these images to see how, in the winter the sky is grey the sea is grey and this grey bird fits in to the colour scheme so well.
As I crept closer to the bird with extreme caution, just a few paces at a time the birds ahead took to the air and where disturbed by something, not me because I was stock still at the time. I glanced over my shoulder to realise that I had been joined by someone who despite seeing me crawling and creeping along thought that he would just walk boldly up to join me. Just what is it that motivates people to congregate together like sheep? The marsh has got to be about 10 square miles but you can bet your bottom dollar that someone will make a bee-line for you if it looks as though you have seen something interesting. Well this is all well and good if you are subtle but this person was totally oblivious for the need for subtlety and fiedcraft and what is more had decided that the 20 minutes creeping that I had already done counted for nothing. I have to be honest, I lost the plot at that stage and had a right go at him. I retreated and went and sat on a bench back where I had started and waited for this selfish excuse for a birdwatcher to do his stuff and leave me to it.