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  • Redshank

Redshank

Redshank (summer plumage)
Redshank (summer plumage)
Redshank (winter plumage)
Redshank (winter plumage)
  • Scientific name: Tringa totanus
  • Bird family: Sandpipers, snipes and phalaropes
  • UK conservation status: Amber
  • Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Redshank call audio

Your browser does not support this audio feature.

Ruud van Beusekom, xeno-canto

Key information

As its name suggests, redshanks' most distinctive features are their bright orange-red legs. They have a medium-length bill with an orange base to match, brown speckled back and wings and paler belly.

What they eat:

Redshanks hunt for insects, earthworms, molluscs and crustaceans by probing their bills into soil and mud.

Measurements:

Length:
28 cm
Wingspan:
62 cm
Weight:
110g (male), 130g (female)

Population:

UK breeding is the number of pairs breeding annually. UK wintering is the number of individuals present from October to March. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration in spring and/or autumn.
UK breeding:
25,000 pairs
UK wintering:
130,000 birds

Identifying features:

Redshank (summer plumage)

Redshank, summer plumage
Feather colour: Brown Cream/buff Grey White
Leg colour: Orange Red
Beak: Black Orange Red Long Thin
Natural habitats: Grassland Marine and intertidal Upland Wetland

Similar birds:

Spotted redshank, breeding plumage
Spotted redshank
Ruffs, summer plumage
Ruff

Where and when to see them

Redshanks breed in damp places like saltmarshes, flood meadows and around lakes, but during winter you'll see lots more of them on estuaries and coastal lagoons - as many as half of these birds may be from Iceland. The greatest concentrations of breeding birds are in parts of Scotland and north-west England.

* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  • Resident
  • Passage
  • Summer
  • Winter
Redshank distribution map

Redshanks can be seen at any time of year.

  • jan
  • feb
  • mar
  • apr
  • may
  • jun
  • jul
  • aug
  • sep
  • oct
  • nov
  • dec

RSPB reserves

  • RSPB Mill Dam, Shapinsay
  • RSPB The Loons and Loch of Banks
  • RSPB Udale Bay
  • RSPB Frampton Marsh
  • RSPB Fairhaven Lake Visitor Centre
  • RSPB Adur Estuary
  • RSPB Loch of Spiggie
  • RSPB Lower Lough Erne Islands
  • RSPB Insh Marshes
  • RSPB Cattawade Marshes
  • RSPB Coll
  • RSPB Otmoor Reserve
  • RSPB Tetney Marshes
  • RSPB Wallasea Island
  • RSPB West Canvey Marsh
  • RSPB Ynys-hir
  • RSPB Berney Marshes and Breydon Water
  • RSPB Boyton and Hollesley Marshes
  • RSPB Brodgar
  • RSPB Campfield Marsh
  • RSPB Loch na Muilne
  • RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh

Video

A redshank surveys its surroundings

A redshank surveys its surroundings

Redshank video screenshot
A lapwing wading through water. It's beady eye is looking at you.

You can create more wonderful wetlands

We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to expand Otmoor reserve by buying neighbouring farmland. Your donation is urgently needed today, to protect this land from potential development and make it safe haven for wildlife.

Donate now

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Song thrush Turdus philomelos, bathing in garden pond, Warwickshire

Dig a damp ditch for diversity

Add a mini-ditch and make your garden less flat, creating a lush byway and hunting ground for birds.

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