Dunlin

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Dunlin, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Red listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	WBD(I*), Bern(III), Bonn(II), AEWA

Dunlin is a widespread visitor around most of the coast of the UK in winter, present in very large numbers on some estuaries. It has a more restricted distribution as a breeding species in upland areas and in north and west Scotland. The status of Dunlin as a breeding species is uncertain. UK population estimates have been suggest stability with estimates of 9,150–9,900 in the 1980s (Stone et al. 1997) and 8,600–10,500 in 2005–07 (Musgrove et al. 2013). The 2005–07 estimate was repeated in the most recent assessment (APEP4). However, there is evidence from two other sources that declines may have occurred. A survey of nine upland study areas in 2000 and 2002 which re-surveyed sites visited between 1980 and 1991, found that Dunlin had significantly declined in two of the seven study areas for which results for Dunlin could be produced, with no significant increases (Sim et al. 2005). Elsewhere, the population on the machair in the Outer Hebrides, which formerly supported a quarter of the British population, dropped by 50% between 1983 and 2000 and by a further 15% by 2007 (Fuller et al. 2010).

UK winter population

-34% decrease (1996/97–2021/22)

Wintering Dunlins are widely distributed around the coastlines of Britain and Ireland, with the exception of steep rocky shores, as predominate in western Scotland. They also occur regularly in small numbers at inland sites, especially in England. Strongholds for breeding Dunlin are all in Scotland, in the Northern Isles and Outer Hebrides, the flow country of Caithness and Sutherland, the hills of the northwest Highlands and the Grampian Mountains. Further south, good numbers remain in the Pennines, but only a few pairs are to be found in the Southern Uplands, in central Wales and on Dartmoor.

The Dunlin's winter distribution has changed little since the 1980s whereas the breeding range shows losses in marginal upland areas, particularly in western Ireland, northern England and southern Scotland.

Dunlins are recorded throughout the year with strong cycles of detection associated with pulses of migration as different wintering and breeding populations move through the UK.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	19 years 3 months 26 days (set in 2010)
Typical Lifespan	5 years with breeding typically at 2 year
Adult Survival	0.74±0.015
Juvenile Survival	0.74 (in first year)

Wing Length	Adults	119.2±3.7 | Range 113–125mm, N=10154
	Juveniles	119±3.8 | Range 113-125mm, N=8049
	Males	112.2±3 | Range 108–118mm, N=164
	Females	115.6±2.9 | Range 110–120mm, N=138

Body Weight	Adults	50.0±5 | Range 42.0–58.0g, N=9759
	Juveniles	49.3±6 | Range 39.0–59.0g, N=7451
	Males	47.2±5.9 | Range 39.0–57.0g, N=160
	Females	51.2±6.2 | Range 41.6–62.0g, N=137

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	B2
Field Codes	2-letter: DN | 5-letter code: DUNLI | Euring: 5120

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Causes of change

In the Hebrides, predation by introduced hedgehogs has been a driver of declines (Jackson & Green 2000). Habitat loss is believed to have caused declines elsewhere, in particular the planting of forestry on moorland (Lavers & Haines-Young 1997).