Breeding of Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) on Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada

Abstract

Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) is a migratory shorebird; subspecies psammodromus reaches the western limit of its breeding range in Nunavut, Canada, where the population is thought to be relatively small and restricted to the easternmost islands of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The subspecies was observed on Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut in July 2022 and again in 2023, when breeding was confirmed, which is a western extension of the recorded breeding range in Canada. The nesting habitat is consistent with that used by this subspecies elsewhere in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. These observations and confirmed breeding at Expedition Fiord, on the west coast of Axel Heiberg Island, provide new insight into the breeding range of a shorebird whose presence in Canada is poorly understood.