Occurrence of Pacific Golden Plovers in The Netherlands; Historical Perspectives from the “Wilsternetters”

The present wintering range of the Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva) includes the northeastern tip of Africa, southern Asia, to Australia and New Zealand and much of the Pacific Ocean. We summarize evidence from the oral history of “wilsternetters” (artisanal hunters using an ancient, specialized netting device to capture grassland-shorebirds in daytime), as well as written records, to suggest that, until quite recently the wintering range of the Pacific Golden Plover may even have included the southern North Sea coast, mainly in the north of The Netherlands. Near the Zuiderzee (a large... Mehr ...