A will to survive against the odds
Golden plover are probably the most obscure and beautiful birds on the British quarry list. In full spring plumage, the males strike a gorgeous balance between rich gold, ice-white and black, and the effect is sure to make a lasting impression on human passers-by. Their call is soft and plaintive, evocative of marsh, moorland or mudflat. Hear it once and remember it forever.
Outside the breeding season, the bird’s colours are softer and more subtle and this is when they are sometimes encountered by wildfowlers on the foreshore. Only a handful of plover are shot each year and, after 20 years of shooting across the UK, I have only ever seen a single bird killed. This was bagged when it rose from the slopes of a steep mountain near Cape Wrath on a day that was otherwise devoted to grouse.
We ate it that night, roasted along with a brace of young grouse. Rich and gamey, it was easy to
