The Common Redshank – Tringa tetanus

The Common Redshank is a large sandpiper with long, bright red legs or “ shanks “ It is a typical wader, feeding in shallow water around lakes, marshes, mudflats , coastal wetlands and estuaries. It breeds on open marshes and estuary grasslands. Redshanks are wary and noisy birds. Their calls will alert everything else in the vicinity to danger and they can often be heard long before you see them.

Brownish all over, with a paler belly, the redshank is one of only two waders that has bright red legs; the spotted redshank also has red legs, but is slightly larger, with longer legs and a longer bill. The redshank has a straight bill, which is red at the base and black at the end. When it flies, it shows a white triangular wedge up its back and a wide, white triangle on its rear. Look for it typically posed on top of a post, fence or rock in wet grassland or farmland areas.

The redshank is the most common sandpiper in Europe.

In the breeding season Redshanks typically returning to the same nesting area year after year. The nest is characteristically a shallow scrape or hollow on a hummock or at the base of a tuft of grass, often well-hidden. Redshanks typically nest in a solitary manner or in loose colonies and lay 3-4 eggs. Local breeding birds are joined by internationally important numbers of wintering Redshanks from Iceland, the Faeroes and a small number from continental Europe. Once widespread across the country, their distribution is becoming increasingly fragmented as numbers have fallen rapidly in response to changing agricultural practices.

In common with all waders, Redshank chicks are able to walk and feed almost as soon as they leave the nest. However, this makes them vulnerable to predators and they need areas of tall vegetation to hide in, close to damper patches where they can find invertebrate food. The Redshank feeds on small invertebrates by pecking or probing mud flats or upper tidal zones. On inland wetlands, their diet consists of crane fly larvae and earthworms.

The redshank’s nest is typically made by the male who is more faithful to a specific breeding site than the female.

The redshank is threatened by the loss of breeding and wintering habitats. This may occur through agricultural intensification, wetland drainage, flood control, land reclamation, industrial development or sea-level rise flooding salt-marshes, mudflats and inter-tidal habitats. Natural predators include foxes, crows, the American mink and ground predators (such as weasels) when nesting. They are also susceptible to severe cold periods in the winter. Classified in the UK as Amber under the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds (2015).

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