Birdwatch: the Kentish plover – once a scarce migrant, now a real rarity

One of these compact little waders has been hanging around my patch for a year, but it's not easy to spot

Some rare birds stay put for just a few hours; others stick around for months, or even years. But that doesn't always make them easy to see.

Since a Kentish plover was first found in Somerset on Boxing Day 2019, it has been seen occasionally on Stert Island, opposite my coastal patch. It disappeared for the summer, then returned in October to spend the winter with a flock of ringed plovers. But at a distance, it can be very hard to pick out.