Scientific name:

Calidris alpina

About:

A small sandpiper, about 19 cm long. In the winter they are plain grey above and white underneath, with a medium-length, curved dark bill and shortish black legs. During the summer, adults are brick red above, with a black belly patch.

How to identify:

<p>Sandpipers can be a difficult group of birds to get to grips with. The dunlin is unmistakeable 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 and therefore looks very like the sanderling, although it is a little smaller and has a longer decurved bill,</p>

Where:

A common winter visitor to our coasts.

Fantastic facts:

The name comes from their nesting habitat: dun is old gaelic for hill and linne means pool or pond.