Almost entirely marine in distribution, only occasionally occurring inland. Found all around the Irish coast, particularly on rocky shores, headlands, islands and piers during winter.
Turnstone
Irish Name: | Piardálaí trá |
Scientific name: | Arenaria interpres |
Bird Family: | Waders |
Conservation status
Status
Winter visitor from northeast Canada and northern Greenland, occurs late July to late April.
Identification
The wader most likely to be found along our rocky shoreline. Mainly a winter visitor, but good numbers pass through Ireland in spring and autumn en route to/from arctic and subarctic breeding grounds. About the size of a Starling, with a stocky build and short orange legs. In winter, its dark brown upperparts, white underside and black breast crescent make it difficult to see amongst seaweed. Spring birds are brighter and show rich chestnut markings on the wing and back. In flight, Turnstones show a series of black and white stripes, resembling a miniature Oystercatcher. Usually occurs in small flocks, moving with head down, constantly flicking over seaweed fronds, pebbles and beach debris with its short, stubby bill, in search of sand hoppers and other invertebrates.
Voice
Often calls in flight - an abrupt, loud, bubbly "tutt-tutt-tutt…".
Diet
Sandhoppers & other marine invertebrates. Also fish carrion washed up on shore.
Breeding
Does not breed in Ireland - breeding range all around shores of Scandinavia and Canada. Small numbers of non-breeding Turnstones (mainly first-summers) can be seen through the summer months.
Wintering
Winters all around the Irish coast.
Monitored by
Blog posts about this bird
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.