Greenshank
| Irish Name: | Laidhrín glas |
| Scientific name: | Tringa nebularia |
| Bird Family: | Waders |
green
Conservation status
Conservation status
Status
Winter visitor to estuaries from September to April from Scotland and Scandinavia.
Identification
A distinctive long-legged, long-billed wader, quite large, very white looking at long range, with dark wings. Bill straight with a very slight upturn. Legs a washed out grayish green. In flight, quite long-winged, shows no wingbar - just plain, blackish wings, contrasting with a long white rump and back. Not very common - typically seen singly or in very small groups.
Voice
A loud "tew, tew, tew", usually calls in flight.
Diet
Feed mostly in deep water sites, channels, brackish pools and lakes, predominantly on invertebrates, particularly shrimps, crabs and Hediste sp., and small fish. They have a variety of feeding techniques, though mostly feed by pecking at the mud, water or vegetation, and catch fish by using a dash-and-lunge technique.
Breeding
There have been occasional sightings of birds in suitable habitat (BoCCI listing), and one pair was confirmed to have bred in Co. Mayo on at least 2 occasions during the early 1970's (Irish Birds 1: 236-238, 1978). The main breeding range in Europe extends from pool-dominated and boulder-shrewn bogland areas of Scotland to Scots Pine woods in Scandinavia.
Wintering
Mostly coastal distribution - while the majority are found on estuaries, up to 30% are estimated to winter along non-estuarine coast.
Monitored by
Wintering around the Irish coast. Shannon & Fergus Estuary in County Clare, Strangford Lough in County Down, Lough Swilly in County Donegal and Cork Harbour in County Cork all regularly support >50 birds.
Breeds from Northern Scotland to Scandinavia and Eastwards.
