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European golden plover migration Pluvialis apricaria
▶ Follow the European golden plover across the big globe
Press ▶ to play the year. Line: a simplified typical route, joining the main cluster of GBIF records in each month (adjusted for observer effort).
| Scientific name | Pluvialis apricaria |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 72 cm |
| Adult weight | 175 g (adult) |
| IUCN status | Least concern |
| Records mapped | 740,231 (GBIF) |
| GPS / geolocator tracks | none with an open licence yet |
Facts from Wikidata Q21148 (CC0).
When does the European golden plover arrive in the UK?
Recorded in the UK in every season, so the records do not show one clear arrival date.
Bars: this species’ share of all UK bird records in GBIF (CC0/CC BY), by month, scaled to the peak month. Based on 91,299 UK records. Weekly counts from the GBIF occurrence search API (country=GB). Dates are read from records, not from a survey, so treat them as a guide.
Migration in the data
740,231 GBIF records (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 licences only) are mapped here, in 1.41° grid cells, month by month.
In Europe and Africa, the centre of the records (adjusted for observer effort) is furthest north in June (about 66°N) and furthest south in January (about 46°N).
Month by month: centre of records in Europe and Africa
| Month | Centre (latitude) | South of the Equator |
|---|---|---|
| January | 46°N | 0% |
| February | 47°N | 0% |
| March | 50°N | 0% |
| April | 61°N | 0% |
| May | 65°N | 0% |
| June | 66°N | 0% |
| July | 65°N | 0% |
| August | 62°N | 0% |
| September | 58°N | 0% |
| October | 55°N | 0% |
| November | 50°N | 0% |
| December | 47°N | 0% |
Tracked birds
No openly licensed (CC0 / CC BY) tracking data package for this species was found in the Movebank Data Repository yet, so only records are shown.
About the European golden plover
The European golden plover, also known as the Eurasian golden plover, greater golden plover, or just the golden plover within Europe, is a relatively large species of plover. …
From the Wikipedia article “European golden plover” (revision 1357302330), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources
GBIF occurrence records, licence CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, observations only (no specimens), filtered with: taxonKey=2480332&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&hasGeospatialIssue=false&basisOfRecord=HUMAN_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=MACHINE_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=OBSERVATION. Monthly queries: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec. GBIF.org (23 October 2026) occurrence data accessed via the GBIF API; a GBIF download DOI is still to be added. Contributing datasets.