The Dunlin was @SpeciesofUK from 14th
to 20th October, 2013.
Dunlins are waders that form massive winter flocks in the UK. They are known for the black bellies they develop in their distinctive
breeding plumage.
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| Dunlin [Source: Flickr Creative Commons © talis qualis] |
Dunlins are one of the UK’s most common
waders.
Dunlins are found right across the northern hemisphere, from North
America to Russia and China, to the African, Mediterranean and Arabian coasts.[1]
Dunlins breed in UK uplands from April to July. During this time, they
are found in their greatest numbers in the Western and Northern Isles, the Flow
Country (in the far north of Scotland) and the Pennines.[2]
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| Dunlins in the Western Isles [Source: Flickr Creative Commons © IrenicRhonda] |
Outside of the non-breeding season dunlins prefer estuarine mudflats, or
failing that any freshwater and brackish wetlands.[3]
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| Dunlins Love the Mud! [Source: Flickr Creative Commons © Valter Jacinto] |
A group of dunlins are known as a 'flight', a ‘fling’ and a ‘trip’.[4]
Dunlins have striking breeding plumage.
The dunlin has a slightly down-curved bill, which (along with the legs)
is black. The females have slightly longer bills than males.[5].
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| Slightly Down-curved Bill [Source: Flickr Creative Commons © jvverde] |
In flight it has white underwings, a white line down the middle of the upperwing, and white on either side of its rump and tail. The white underwings are especially distinctive in flight.[6]
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| White Lines on Upperwing [Source: Flickr Creative Commons © jvverde] |
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| White Underwings [Source: Flickr Creative Commons © prorallypix] |
In its breeding plumage, the dunlin has a distinctive black belly patch and reddish back and cap. The black belly in particular distinguishes it from all other similar-sized waders.[7]
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| Dunlin in Breeding Plumage [Source: Flickr Creative Commons © mikebaird] |
In winter, dunlin plumage becomes very dull, fading to greyish above and white below.
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| Dunlins in Winter Plumage [Source: Flickr Creative Commons © Dendroica cerulea] |
Juvenile dunlins are brown above with brownish black splotches on
the belly.[8]
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| Juvenile Dunlin [Source: Flickr Creative Commons © jvverde] |
The call of the dunlin is a "peep", and its display song is a harsh
trill.[9]
Dunlins are active both day and night.
Dunlins feed at night as well as during the day. They feed by probing and
jabbing with their long bill in the substrate.[10]
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| Dunlins Feeding [Source: Flickr Creative Commons © Len Blumin] |
The dunlin eats adult and larval insects, spiders, mites, earthworms,
snails, slugs and plant matter (usually seeds). On the coast, it also eats
polychaete worms, crustaceans, bivalves, and occasionally small fish.[11]
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| Dunlins Feeding at Low Tide [Source: Flickr Creative Commons © Seuss] |
And here is a video of dunlins feeding alongside western sandpipers.
Male dunlins work hard to court
potential mates.
Male dunlins arrive at the breeding grounds first. When females arrive, the
males perform display flights - short glides interrupted by rapid flutters.[12]
The male dunlin then make several scrapes in the ground. The female
chooses one and finishes it off to make the nest.[13]
A dunlin nest is a scrape or shallow depression in the ground, concealed
in vegetation and sometimes in a tuft or tussock (and thus raised slightly off
the ground).[14]
The dunlin usually lays four eggs, which are incubated for twenty
to twenty-two. The young leave the nest shortly after hatching and find their
own food.[15]
Dance of the dunlins.
Outside of the breeding season, the dunlin is very gregarious. It forms
groups of up to hundreds of thousands at the wintering grounds.[16]
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| Gregarious Dunlins [Source: Flickr Creative Commons © hjhipster] |
Here is a wonderful video of dunlins flocking at their wintering
grounds ‘murmurating’.
Strange but true…
The male dunlin is the more caring of the parents. The
female usually abandons the family group within a week of hatching. The male
generally stays with the young until they are close to fledging, typically
about nineteen days.[17]
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