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GALLERIES > BIRDS > CHARADRIIFORMES > SCOLOPACIDAE > DUNLIN [Calidris alpina]    [plot on map]


Dunlin Picture @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Grotta, Reykjavik, Iceland
GPS: 64.2N, -22.0W, elev=4' MAP
Date: June 20, 2018
ID : B13K7677 [4896 x 3264]

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Dunlin Photo @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Grotta, Reykjavik, Iceland
GPS: 64.2N, -22.0W, elev=4' MAP
Date: June 20, 2018
ID : B13K7659 [4896 x 3264]

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Dunlin Picture @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Playa del Rey (Ballona Creek), CA
GPS: 34.0N, -118.4W, elev=0' MAP
Date: April 29, 2017
ID : B13K4571 [4896 x 3264]

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Dunlin Photo @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Playa del Rey (Ballona Creek), CA
GPS: 34.0N, -118.4W, elev=0' MAP
Date: April 29, 2017
ID : B13K4562 [4896 x 3264]

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Dunlin Image @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Barrow, AK
GPS: 71.2N, -156.3W, elev=24' MAP
Date: June 8, 2012
ID : B13K0213 [4896 x 3264]

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Dunlin Photo @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Salt Creek, Salton Sea, CA
GPS: 33.4N, -115.8W, elev=-225' MAP
Date: April 6, 2016
ID : B13K1416 [4896 x 3264]

nature photography

Dunlin Picture @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Kealia Ponds, Maui, Hawaii
GPS: 20.8N, -156.5W, elev=170' MAP
Date: October 21, 2015
ID : B13K9547 [4896 x 3264]

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Dunlin Photo @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Teller Road, Nome, AK
GPS: 65.3N, -166.4W, elev=20' MAP
Date: June 6, 2012
ID : B13K0074 [4896 x 3264]

nature photography

Dunlin Picture @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberlands, United Kingdom
GPS: 55.2N, -1.5W, elev=7' MAP
Date: December 30, 2011
ID : B13K1988 [4896 x 3264]

nature photography

Dunlin Picture @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Playa del Rey (Ballona Creek), CA
GPS: 34.0N, -118.4W, elev=0' MAP
Date: October 22, 2011
ID : B13K9350 [4896 x 3264]

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Dunlin Image @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: San Jacinto Wildlife Area, CA
GPS: 33.9N, -117.1W, elev=1,426' MAP
Date: October 15, 2011
ID : B13K9315 [4896 x 3264]

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Dunlin Image @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: San Jacinto Wildlife Area, CA
GPS: 33.9N, -117.1W, elev=1,426' MAP
Date: October 15, 2011
ID : B13K9308 [4896 x 3264]

bird photography

Dunlin Picture @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Playa del Rey (Ballona Creek), CA
GPS: 34.0N, -118.4W, elev=0' MAP
Date: January 30, 2011
ID : B13K7482 [4896 x 3264]

bird photography

Dunlin Photo @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Newport Beach, CA
GPS: 33.7N, -117.9W, elev=17' MAP
Date: November 7, 2009
ID : 7C2V4696 [3888 x 2592]

Dunlin Image @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Salton Sea, CA
GPS: 33.2N, -115.6W, elev=-232' MAP
Date: May 2, 2009
ID : 7C2V7181 [3888 x 2592]

bird photography

Dunlin Image @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Magee Marsh (Crane Creek), OH
GPS: 41.6N, -83.2W, elev=573' MAP
Date: May 16, 2010
ID : 7C2V9032 [3888 x 2592]

Dunlin Picture @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Magee Marsh (Crane Creek), OH
GPS: 41.6N, -83.2W, elev=573' MAP
Date: May 16, 2010
ID : 7C2V9041 [3888 x 2592]

nature photography

Dunlin Image @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Magee Marsh (Crane Creek), OH
GPS: 41.6N, -83.2W, elev=573' MAP
Date: May 3, 2008
ID : 0203 [3888 x 2592]

Dunlin Picture @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Magee Marsh (Crane Creek), OH
GPS: 41.6N, -83.2W, elev=573' MAP
Date: May 3, 2008
ID : 0221 [3888 x 2592]

nature photography

Dunlin Picture @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Jekyll Island, GA
GPS: 31.1N, -81.4W, elev=7' MAP
Date: February 10, 2008
ID : 3707 [3888 x 2592]

Dunlin Photo @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Ballona Lagoon, CA
GPS: 34.0N, -118.5W, elev=2' MAP
Date: April 10, 2006
ID : 2280 [3888 x 2592]

nature photography

SPECIES INFO

The Dunlin, Calidris or Erolia alpina, is a small wader. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa and southeast Asia. Birds that breed in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic migrate short distances to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America.

The Dunlin is highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches. Large numbers can often be seen swirling in synchronized flight on stop-overs during migration or on their winter habitat.

This bird is one of the most common and best-known waders throughout its breeding and wintering ranges, and it is the species with which other waders tend to be compared. At 17-21 cm length and a 32-36 cm wingspan, it is similar in size to a Common Starling, but stouter, with a thick bill.

It shows a strong white wingbar in flight, and it moves along the coastal mudflat beaches it prefers with a characteristic "sewing machine" feeding action, methodically picking small food items. Insects form the main part of the Dunlin's diet on the nesting grounds; it eats mollusks, worms and crustaceans in coastal areas.

The depicted birds are adults in breeding plumage, with the distinctive black belly which no other similar-sized wader possesses. The winter Dunlin is basically grey above and white below. Juveniles are brown above with two whitish "V" shapes on the back. They usually have black marks on the flanks or belly.

The legs and slightly decurved bill are black. There are a number of subspecies differing mainly in the extent of rufous coloration in the breeding plumage and the bill length. It should, however, be noted that bill length varies between sexes, the females having longer bills than the males.

The nest is a shallow scrape on the ground lined with vegetation, into which typically four eggs are laid and incubated by the male and female parents. Chicks are precocial, however are brooded during early development. They start to fly at approximately three weeks of age. The majority of brood care is provided by the male, as the female deserts the brood and often leaves the breeding area.

The call is a typical sandpiper "peep", and the display song a harsh trill.

The Dunlin is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Apparent hybrids between this species and the White-rumped Sandpiper as well as with the Purple Sandpiper have been reported from the Atlantic coasts of North America (McLaughlin & Wormington, 2000, and external link below) and Europe (Millington, 1994), respectively.




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dunlin's Range Map Click here to see the Dunlin's range map!
Listen to the Dunlin Call:



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