Species information

How to identify

The dunlin is a small sandpiper. It has a slightly down-curved bill. In its summer plumage, adults are brick-red above, with a black belly patch. In its winter plumage, the dunlin is grey above and white underneath.

Listen to its call (Credit: Patrik Aberg / xeno-canto )

Dunlin can be found along the UK coast all year-round. In winter, dunlins feed in large flocks and roosts in fields and saltmarshes. In summer, it breeds in the uplands of the UK, with large numbers in the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland, and the Pennines in England.

Dunlin UK distribution map. Credit: RSPB www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/dunlin

Habitat and feeding

Dunlins prefer estuaries, where it seeks out insects, worms and molluscs to eat. In winter, it feeds in large flocks and roosts in fields and saltmarshes. In summer, it nests on upland moors and bogs in England, Scotland and Wales, and on coastal grasslands around the west coast of Scotland.