Common Redshank

Brownish-grey upperparts with subtle dark mottling, whitish underparts with fine streaking on the breast and neck. Striking bright red legs and a bill that is orange-red at the base with a dark tip. In flight, displays a prominent white wedge up the back and broad white trailing edges to the wings. Sexes are similar in appearance.

Bright red legs, medium length bill red at the base, white wedge on the lower back visible in flight.

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

A loud, musical, and piping 'tu-hu-hu' or ringing alarm call that echoes across wetlands.

Insects, crustaceans, mollusks, worms, and small fish, which it probes for in soft mud or catches by sight in shallow water.

Wet grasslands, coastal salt marshes, mudflats, estuaries, and shallow freshwater lakes.

Partial migrant. Northern populations are fully migratory, moving south to coasts, while western European populations are largely resident.

Nests on the ground in a shallow scrape hidden among dense grass or vegetation. Clutch size is typically 3-4 eggs, incubated by both parents.

Spotted Redshank (larger, longer bill, darker in breeding plumage) and Marsh Sandpiper (much smaller, finer bill, greenish-yellow legs).

Acts as an important predator of benthic invertebrates, helping regulate populations of mudflat and wetland species, and serves as an ecological indicator of wetland health.

Least Concern, with stable to moderately fluctuating regional populations.

Look along muddy estuaries, coastal marshes, and wet inland meadows. Approach quietly as they are notoriously alert and will alarm other birds with their loud calls.

Often referred to as the 'warden of the marshes' because its loud, frantic alarm calls alert other animals and birds to the presence of predators or humans.