Dunlin

About the Dunlin

The Dunlin is a chunky, medium-small sandpiper with a long bill that droops noticeably at the tip. In breeding plumage it is unmistakable, with a rusty back and a bold black patch on the belly. Most birds in Texas, though, are seen in their plain winter dress: gray-brown above, whitish below, with a dusky wash across the breast. That drab look, combined with the drooping bill and hunched posture, is the combination to learn.

Dunlins breed on Arctic tundra and winter along coasts across the Northern Hemisphere, often in dense flocks of hundreds or thousands. They feed by rapid probing, stitching the bill up and down into soft mud like a sewing machine. When a falcon appears, a flock takes off as one, twisting and flashing dark and light in tight formation.

On the Texas coast Dunlins arrive in fall and are among the most abundant wintering shorebirds on the tidal flats, with smaller numbers passing through inland lakes in migration. Like many shorebirds, the species has declined, and it is now listed as Near Threatened.

This bird was photographed on South Padre Island in Cameron County on November 23, 2022, feeding along the Laguna Madre shoreline behind the birding center.