Scattered breeding range, mostly West and North-Western upland blanket bog habitats.
Dunlin
Irish Name: | Breacóg |
Scientific name: | Calidris alpina |
Bird Family: | Waders |
Conservation status
Status
Summer visitor from NW Africa/SW Europe, winter visitor from Scandinavia to Siberia, passage migrant from Greenland (heading south to winter in Africa). Most occur during the mid-winter period.
Identification
One of the smaller waders and our most abundant one in winter and on passage. A limited number breed in some sandy / grassy locations along the west and north coasts. Plumage is highly variable - in summer, rich chestnut above, streaked on breast, white below with a striking black patch on the belly. The more usually encountered winter plumage bird shows a rather non-descript, uniform, plain brownish-grey on all upperparts and cold white underparts. Juveniles in autumn have warm brown tones on the upperparts and considerable streaking on the breast and underparts. There are many other variations and combinations, depending on the bird's state of moult. It is a rather dumpy bird, with black legs and a longish bill which downcurves slightly. Often occurs in very large flocks. An important bird to get to know (in all its plumages) if you want to successfully identify other similar-sized waders.
Voice
A harsh churring trill - "thrrrreeep"
Diet
Feed predominantly on small invertebrates of estuarine mudflats, particularly polychaete worms and small gastropods. They feed in flocks, in the muddier sections of the estuaries and close to the tide edge.
Breeding
Nests on the ground in sparse, low vegetation - in Ireland favours machair habitats
Wintering
Common along all coastal areas - especially on tidal mudflats and estuaries. Very few inland.
Monitored by
Blog posts about this bird
Launch of 45th edition of Irish Birds
Record attendance at I-WeBS workshops highlights public appetite to support biodiversity
Workshop participants getting a glimpse of some interesting waterbirds at Rinville.
The outdoor portion of the events – which took place at Rusheen Bay and Rinville – proved fruitful, offering views of waterbirds such as Lapwing, Curlew, Turnstone and Sandwich Terns, to name but a few. Although not a waterbird, the sight of a beautiful female Wheatear hopping along the nearby rocks was a delightful bonus. Attendees brought with them a wealth of relevant experiences, skills and interests, with a high number of local university students and ecological consultants particular taking part. The interactive and informative workshops have thus far resulted in the recruitment of 30 new I-WeBS volunteers for Inner Galway Bay, with many more attendees choosing to sign up to survey at other sites. Meanwhile, the events inspired many more to get involved with their local Galway Branch of BirdWatch Ireland. In addition to boosting survey volunteer numbers, the recent events also offered a fantastic platform to spread the word about I-WeBS – a National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) funded monitoring project that has been running since 1994. Every year between September and March, close to 500 I-WeBS volunteers record wintering waterbirds at important wetland sites around the country. Irish wetlands are extremely important for the survival of these birds and I-WeBS keeps track of how these birds are faring so that informed conservation action can be taken.Participants working together to identify birds at Rinville.
The recent I-WeBS workshops focused predominantly on Inner Galway Bay – an internationally important site for wintering waterbirds, hosting over 20,000 birds every season. Inner Galway Bay is a site of international importance for the Great Northern Diver and Light-bellied Brent Goose, meaning that it regularly supports one per cent or more of the flyway population of these species. It is also a site of national importance for many birds, including Red-listed species such as Shoveler, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit and Lapwing. In all, the workshops proved to be a great success, in large part due to the strong collaboration between BirdWatch Ireland, BirdWatch Ireland’s Galway Branch, Galway County Council, Galway City Council, the Marine Institute and Knocknacarra Community Centre. BirdWatch Ireland is particularly grateful to Galway County Council and Galway City Council for funding binoculars and telescopes, which will be available for survey volunteers to rent from Galway City Library.