- Lifespan
- 12–15 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 27–30 cm, wingspan 56–64 cm; 190–240 g
- Habitat
- Coastal mudflats, estuaries, salt marshes, and sandy shores; occasionally inland on reservoirs and flooded fields during migration.
- UK Distribution
- Winter visitor and passage migrant throughout the UK, particularly abundant on southern and eastern coasts from August to April. Rare breeder in northern Scotland.
- Diet
- Invertebrates including small crustaceans, marine worms, molluscs, and insects; picks food from mud and sand surfaces.
- Predators
- Peregrine falcons, golden eagles, foxes, and corvids (particularly to eggs and chicks); stoats and weasels in breeding areas.
- Mating Season
- May to July
- Breeding
- Clutch of 4 eggs; incubation period 26–27 days; single brood per year; chicks fledge at 35–45 days.
- Behaviour
- Highly gregarious in winter, often seen in loose flocks on estuaries. Displays distinctive hunched posture when at rest. Winters throughout coastal western Europe and Africa, with British birds belonging to the nomadic northern population.