A Plethora of Dunlin

On 4 February 2021, Erika and I spied a huge flock of Dunlin resting off a shallow spit of a flooded field in the Nisqually national wildlife refuge. I guessed that the flock contained 200 birds, but I added an additional 100 after seeing two more flocks and other Dunlins feeding in the grass at the edge of the pond. My estimate of total numbers could easily be three times too low. I believe the birds were attracted to the area by the winter tide being exceptionally high. The mud flats that usually host sandpipers lay well below water. In the photos, the relatively long, and somewhat down-curved Dunlin bills can be observed. These sandpipers breed around the world’s arctic shores, wintering south to South America and southern China, Indonesia, India, and northern Africa.  Dunlins are an abundant migrant and winter resident in Washington—some non-breeders even summer here.