Mud-dunnocks

Feeding is so much more intense now. A little colder and still windy, so food hard to come by plus quite a few more mouths to feed out on the flats. Black-tailed Godwits now back in good numbers, a lot more Avocets about, Grey Plovers increasing.

And Dunlin hitting their peak. Now in full tidal ebb and flow. Dunlin get about as much press as Dunnocks, but I'm very happy watching them through a tidal cycle. (My tag of DunnoKev came about through being the only ringer mad enough to happily ring all the Dunnocks at a coastal site for eight autumns- in reality I was leaving the more unusual migrants for visiting ringers. I still get ringers hand me Dunnocks thinking they're making me happy. I'd do the same with Dunlin when ringing at Oakham Island. I wonder if I should change the moniker nowadays? DunliKev?)

In November/December the Dunlin often do not need to follow the tide all of the way out. Coming off of their Bishop Saltings roost they head for Rainham Creek and Saltings for a couple of hours. then perhaps on to the edge of Bartlett Creek, where many would be happy to rest up for a short while mid-cycle.

By January they need to feed more, and search more, and so begin to head out to the two mid-estuary flats of Bartlett Spit, and Bishop Spit and Bishop Ooze.

Essentially they now have to expend a lot more energy to get enough food. Feeding mid-channel at low tide put them back much closer to the preferred roosts, but following the rise back in they have to work all the way back to the southern shore before they return mid-estuary once more.

The google images are an extremely simplified version of this change in Dunlin activity.

Typical December- out from roost  to low tide (light yellow),
low tide on rise (bright yellow)

(ii) - return routes to main roosts (orange)

A typical January (i) - start as for December...

(ii) ...but then head out mid-channel...

(iii) ...return to the southern shores,
to feed for longer periods, closer to shore...

(iv) ...before finally heading back to the main roost sites

This might also explain the increasing habit through mid-winter of pre-roosting for a short while on the Rainham saltings. Some simply take a chance to rest before flying back.

For watching Dunlin, and many other species, it all adds up to closer, longer views from the shore as risk/reward levels change- riskier to feed closer to potential threats, but they really need as much time as possible to find enough to eat.

The eastern edge of Rainham Saltings;
Dunlin line the entrance to Mariners Creek