Redshank

Adults in breeding plumage have heavily streaked brown and grey upperparts with darker markings, and a whitish underbelly with dark spots and streaks on the breast. Non-breeding plumage is duller, more uniform grey-brown above with less distinct streaking below. Juveniles resemble non-breeding adults but have warmer, buff fringes on the upperpart feathers. Sexes are visually similar.

Bright orange-red legs, red-based bill with a dark tip, white trailing edge to the wings visible in flight, and a white wedge shape extending up the lower back.

Length: 24-27 cm, Wingspan: 47-53 cm, Weight: 85-155 g

A loud, musical, and piping 'tew-hu-hu' or a rhythmic fluting song given in display flight.

Invertebrates including insects, crustaceans, molluscs, worms, and occasionally small fish or seeds, foraged by probing mud or picking items from the surface.

Wet grasslands, coastal saltmarshes, estuaries, mudflats, flooded inland fields, and the shores of lakes and slow-moving rivers.

Partial migrant. Northern populations are strictly migratory, moving south for the winter, while western and southern European populations are largely resident.

Nests on the ground in a shallow scrape hidden amongst tall grass or vegetation near water. Lays a clutch of typically 4 eggs. Both parents incubate and tend to the precocial chicks.

Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus), which is larger, longer-legged, and has an all-dark bill in breeding plumage; Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), which is larger with an upturned greenish bill.

Acts as an important predator of benthic invertebrates in wetlands and intertidal mudflats, helping to regulate populations and cycle nutrients in coastal and freshwater ecosystems.

Least Concern, with a generally stable global population trend, though locally affected by wetland drainage and agricultural intensification.

Look for them in coastal marshes, estuaries, and wet meadows. They are very vocal and will often sound an alarm as soon as human observers approach, making them easy to locate but challenging to approach closely without disturbing.

Often referred to as the 'sentinel of the marshes' because its loud alarm calls warn other wetland birds and animals of approaching predators or humans.