- Lifespan
- 8–10 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 17–19 cm, wingspan 32–35 cm; 40–50 g
- Habitat
- Breeds on moorland, tundra, and coastal marshes; winters on estuaries, mudflats, and coastal shores.
- UK Distribution
- Breeds in small numbers in northern Scotland and the Pennines; abundant winter visitor and passage migrant to UK coasts from August to April, with populations peaking in autumn.
- Diet
- Feeds on small invertebrates including insects, larvae, crustaceans, and molluscs, picked or probed from mud and sand.
- Prey
- Chironomid larvae, small amphipods, marine worms, small snails
- Predators
- Raptors including Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, and Short-eared Owl; also foxes and rats targeting eggs and chicks
- Mating Season
- May to July
- Breeding
- Clutch of 4 eggs, incubation period 21–22 days, single brood per year; chicks fledge at 19–21 days.
- Behaviour
- Highly gregarious, forming large flocks on winter estuaries often numbering hundreds to thousands. Males perform distinctive aerial display flights during breeding season with rapid wing-beats and trilling calls. Feeds actively on exposed mudflats, often in mixed-species flocks with other waders.