Beach and Dune - Gower - page 139

FIG 73 B.
the Countryside Council for Wales for Figures
Various wading birds, gulls and crows feed along the strandline and roost on the beach. Waders that
occur include ringed plover Charadrius hiaticula , sanderling Calidris alba , oystercatcher, curlew and
dunlin.Thesespeciescanbeseeninvaryingnumbersthroughouttheyear,buttheyareparticularlyabund-
ant at migration time and in winter. The ringed plover is one of the few birds to nest on the Gower shore
and one or two pairs attempt to breed each year at Oxwich just above the high tide line, although disturb-
ance is a real issue. Gulls roosting on the beaches include herring gull Larus argentatus , black-headed
gull Larus ridibundus and common gull Larus canus and quite large groups of several hundred birds can
build up in the winter.
Blackpill is an important feeding station for migratory waders such as sanderling, ringed plovers and
oystercatchers. These birds stop over to refuel on their global journeys, from Africa to Greenland and the
Russian steppes, and back again. It is also an outstanding location for watching waders and gulls on a
rising tide. The first Mediterranean gull Larus melanocephalus was recorded in 1970, and the adult ring-
billed gull Larus delawarensis seen in 1973 was the first record for the UK . Both these species, which are
non-breeding visitors to the area, are now regularly found amongst the other gulls and are also present
at other locations around the coast. Other rare gulls recorded include Iceland Larus glaucoides , glaucous
Larus hyperboreus and little gull Larus minutus . The yellow-legged gull Larus cachinnans is also occa-
sionally spotted by regular bird-watchers. Bar-tailed godwit Limosa lapponica is present throughout the
year, along with ringed and grey plover Pluvialis squatarola .
The fox is a frequent scavenger of the strandline, along with a number of other mammals including
voles, mice and rats Rattus norvegicus . Even the brown hare will visit occasionally.