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DE 
It is currently breeding season. One bird species that currently builds its nests well camouflaged on the ground is the little ringed plover. This species is regularly found on construction sites with large areas of open ground. Dealing with this strictly protected bird species is therefore always a challenge for Mull und Partner Ingenieurgesellschaft's environmental construction supervision and monitoring team.
This small bird species, with a black collar and yellow eye ring, is originally found in floodplains. It breeds there on sand and gravel banks. However, the natural habitat has been destroyed in many places by straightening rivers.
Construction sites with large areas of open ground offer similar conditions to the original habitats. The little ringed plover uses gravelly or sandy areas with little vegetation as nesting sites, but gravel and recycled material are also welcome breeding sites.
The little ringed plover creates various nesting hollows in the ground, one of which is chosen for laying eggs. The nesting hollow is often „furnished“ with small branches and pebbles. The eggs look similar to pebbles and are therefore well camouflaged, as the photo below shows.
For this reason, caution is advised when little ringed plovers are nesting on the construction site. The nests can easily be overlooked and destroyed, for example by being driven over, especially if the nest locations are not known.
As this species is strictly protected, the destruction of nests is a violation of the Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatschG). Mull und Partner Ingenieurgesellschaft advises on how to deal with little ringed plovers as well as on other nature conservation and environmental protection issues in its environmental construction monitoring and environmental construction supervision services.