Little ringed Plover - a cute resident of river shores

When I visit the River Shores of the Danube River, I often find this little feathered friend here. This little bird needs a river that has some nice gravel shores where it can lay its eggs. Although the water level of the Danube can rise and fall several meters during the year, it still has often the chance to breed and produce some offspring. This bird has several tries during the breeding season, and not every try is successful. Especially when they open the shots of the water power plants the water level underneath the power plant rises a lot and a lot of breeding habitat of these birds is destroyed.

Little ringed plover looking for food on a gravel bar. Picture: Florian Glechner.

What I really like about these birds is that they get used to you pretty fast and if you position yourself on the ground at the gravel bar where you saw one of them they come back to the place once they know that you are not a threat to them. I really like taking pictures of these birds but I only know a few places where I really can take some great pictures of them. A waterpower plant with a shallow water underneath is a perfect places for them to breed and live, so I often visit a small town "Willhering" in Upper Austria for some photography of these birds when the water level of the danube is low.

This birds is inspecting me to see if I am dangerous or not. Picture: Florian Glechner.

Cute little bird inbetween the gravel. Picture: Florian Glechner.

If they know you are here they often have a lot of respect and is difficult to get close for a picture. Picture: Florian Glechner.