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Dutch Little Ringed Plovers Used Saline and Brackish Habitats During Migration

Female Little Ringed Plover foraging in shallow water in the Netherlands
Research · Ecology

Tracking data from little ringed plovers (Thinornis dubius) breeding in the Netherlands showed that saline and brackish wetlands formed an important part of their migration habitat. The study combined light-level geolocators with sensors recording whether the birds were wet or dry and the conductivity of the water they encountered.

Light-level geolocators estimate broad geographic position from sunrise and sunset timing and day length. Their positions are much less precise than GPS, and they become unreliable around the equinoxes when day length is similar across latitudes.

The tracked birds followed the western European migration system towards wintering areas in West Africa, with autumn stopovers concentrated around the Mediterranean. Conductivity readings indicated that many of these stopover sites were saline or brackish rather than freshwater, pointing to coastal marshes and artificial saline wetlands such as saltworks as important refuelling areas.

Saline wetlands formed a substantial part of migration habitat

During migration, females spent about 15% of their time and males about 17% in saline aquatic habitats. The timing of spring migration overlapped with the spring equinox, when light-level geolocators cannot provide reliable geographic positions, so the researchers could not map spring stopovers in the same way. Conductivity data nevertheless allowed them to identify when the birds again used saline habitats during the northward journey.

The results add a habitat dimension to earlier tracking work on the species: little ringed plovers are strongly associated with inland freshwater habitats while breeding, but individuals from western Europe can depend substantially on saline and brackish wetlands during migration.

Sources and image credit

  1. van Horssen, P. W., Majoor, F., & Valkenburg, J. (2026). Wintering sites and habitat use at stopover sites of Little Ringed Plover Thinornis dubius breeding in the Netherlands. Wader Study, 133(1), 43–49.Primary research article published 1 April 2026. Geolocators with light, conductivity and wet/dry sensors documented migration and saline/brackish habitat use.

Image: Stephan Sprinz — adult female little ringed plover foraging in shallow water near Roermond, Limburg, Netherlands, photographed 19 April 2022. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Representative image for this story; not presented as an animal or scene from the reported study or event. · CC BY 4.0 · Source

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