Dunlins in flight like smoke in wind (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen)

Dunlins in flight like smoke in wind

10:53am Monday 25th January 2010

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The next time East Lancashire feels a bit cool you could head off to the coast be it to the Fylde at Lytham St Annes or into Morecambe Bay, not literally of course.

This is the time of year to enjoy the sigh of our most common winter wading bird, the dunlin.

The feed in huge flocks and they wheel about and twist in flight so quickly that they resemble smoke being driven by the wind.

Known in North America as the red backed sandpiper because of their breeding plumage, they are know to scientists as calidris alpina. The alpine bit means the the bird returns to the colder areas to breed but more and more are breeding in Britain.

This once again makes some of us wonder if global warming is quite so imminent as some suggest. This winter also makes me a little more sceptical.

The dunlin is only 17.5cms (7inches) long and has a longish bill which is slightly carved downwards. This is an ideal shape for digging into soft mud and sand to get at the worms and other invertebrates which make up its diet. To see dunlins at their aerial best you should visit Lancashire coast between now and April.

Here are a few hot spots or should I say cold spots to enjoy dunlins – Lytham St Annes; Fleetwood and Knott End; West Bank; Southport; around the sands at Morecambe.

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