Header image credit: Andy Rouse

What are waders?

Waders can be a tough group to define. The term is used to describe members of a number of bird families, all from the order Charadriiformes (which also includes gulls, terns, skuas, and auks). As the name suggests, most waders are usually found wading through shallow water, or along its muddy margins. They normally have fairly long legs, are often largely brown (but not always!) and tend to gather in groups. In other parts of the world, they are known as shorebirds.

An early autumn

Waders are birds in a hurry. Many of those we see in the UK breed far to the north, in the Arctic, or at least close to it. Summer is short there, so it doesn’t pay to hang around. They head north in spring, try to raise some chicks and are on their way south again by ‘our’ summer.

The first birds to return are usually adults that failed to breed – perhaps their nest was predated, or they couldn’t find a partner to begin with. They’re soon followed by more successful adults, who leave their young to fend for themselves at an early age. Finally, the young birds start to arrive, making their very first migration.

Where to see them?

Away from their breeding grounds, most waders gather around water. Some nature reserves are famous for attracting large numbers, but during autumn migration they can turn up almost anywhere. You could find them on coastal mudflats, inland gravel pits, and even stone-lined reservoirs. They migrate both night and day, so the cast of characters is always changing. A visit at dawn and another in the evening could reveal completely different birds. New arrivals are especially likely after a period of bad weather, forced to land by the rain.

Six to spot...

Green sandpiper

cc: Tom Hibbert

One of the first waders to return to the UK. Some arrive as early as June, whilst other birds are still making their way north! They breed in Russia and Scandinavia, though occasionally a pair or two nests in Scotland. Most summer and autumn visitors just stop off on their way to southern Europe or northern Africa, but some stay for the winter.

Green sandpipers have a very dark, blackish-brown back, speckled with faint, fine white spots. The head and breast are a slightly paler, streakier brown. The belly is very white, with a sharp distinction between it and the streaky brown breast. The long legs and fairly long bill are greyish green. In flight it shows a white rump and a white tail with thick black bars, as well as very dark underwings.

They’re often found on inland waterbodies, picking their way around the muddy margins. They can turn up on surprisingly small, muddy puddles. They’re usually on their own, rather than in flocks. Like other sandpipers, they bob their body up and down as they walk.

Look out for Green Sandpipers at Tring Reservoirs, Lemsford Springs, Rye Meads or Tyttenhanger Gravel Pits.

Common sandpiper

cc: Mark Hamblin

Common sandpipers breed in the UK, on upland rivers and reservoirs in the north and west. They migrate south for the winter, heading to coastal West Africa. As they head south in late summer and autumn, they make pit stops in other parts of the UK, as do migrants from continental Europe.

They look similar to green sandpipers but are slightly smaller and not as dark on top. The upperparts are a warm brown, whilst the underparts are white. A useful feature is that the white feathers reach up the sides of the body, forming a spur between the brown feathers of the breast and the wings.

Common sandpipers usually look like they’re crouching down, and often bob the rear of their body. In flight they have a bold white bar on each wing, and the brown of their back extends down onto the tail. They have a distinctive flight style, low over the water with rapid bursts of wingbeats and short glides. Listen out for their high-pitched ‘swee swee swee’ call.

Sightings of Common Sandpipers are common at Tring Reservoirs where they are seen in small groups or single numbers.

Black-tailed godwit

cc: Tom Hibbert

A small number of black-tailed godwits nest in the UK, but many more come for the winter from Iceland, or stop off on their journey to southwest Europe or West Africa. They tend to spend the winter on coastal wetlands, but on migration can drop in on inland sites. They form flocks and wade out into belly-deep water to feed.

They are large, elegant waders with long dark legs and a long beak. The beak is orange or pinkish at the base and darker at the tip. In summer their head, neck and breast are a rusty orange colour. The breast has some dark barring that extends down onto the whiter belly. Males have black feathers on their back, edged with orange brown, mixed with some plainer grey-brown feathers. Females have more of the grey-brown feathers. Young birds have a buff wash to the neck and breast. As autumn progresses, black-tailed godwits replace their colourful feathers with a plainer, grey-brown winter plumage.

They can be confused with the similar bar-tailed godwit, which has a shorter, more up-turned beak. The two species are most easily separated in flight, when it becomes clear how they got their names. Black-tailed godwits have a white tail with a thick black band at the end. Bar-tailed godwits have dark barring over their whole tail, with a white wedge extending up onto the back.

Black-Tailed Godwits can be seen at Tring Reservoir, Amwell Nature Reserve and Kings Meads Nature Reserve in small or large groups.

Ruff

cc:Tom Hibbert

Ruffs once nested across Britain, but their wetland habitats were drained for farmland and the birds themselves hunted for feathers. Now nesting attempts are rare. Fortunately, they’re still commonly seen passing through on migration from Scandinavia and Russia to Africa. Some stay in the UK for the winter.

Ruffs are incredibly variable birds, in size as well as plumage! They have a plump body, a long neck, and a head that looks too small for them. The legs are yellowish-orange and the medium-length beak curves down slightly. For most of the year, adult ruffs are fairly plain with a scaly-looking grey-brown back and paler belly. Young birds have duller legs and a buff wash to the head, neck, and breast.

In spring, males develop an incredible new look, with plumes on their head and a huge feathery ruff around their neck. Some of the early returning males in summer may still have traces of this plumage. Ruffs will feed in both freshwater and saltwater marshes and often turn up inland. You can sometimes find them feeding on wet grassland, too.

Ruffs are rare in Hertfordshire but there have been recordings of single birds at Rye Meads and Tyttenhanger Gravel Pits

Greenshank

cc: Bertie Gregory

Around 1,000 pairs of greenshank nest in Scotland, with many of these wintering around the coasts of the UK and Ireland. Autumn sees larger numbers passing through on their way from Russia and Scandinavia to West Africa. These passage birds often stop off at inland wetlands as well as coastal pools, creeks, and mudflats.

Greenshanks are fairly large waders with long greenish-yellow legs and a stout, slightly upcurved beak. The beak is thick and greyish at the base, tapering slightly to a darker tip. Young birds and adults in winter plumage are greyish, with some streaking on the head, neck, and breast. The streaking is more extensive on young birds. They all have a white belly. In their summer plumage, adults have some white-fringed black feathers on their back. They also have more streaking on the breast, including dark chevrons stretching down the flanks.

In flight they show a white wedge extending from the tail up to the centre of the back. The tail itself is white with dark barring, which is boldest in the centre. They often give a loud, ‘tyu-tyu-tyu’ call.

Can be seen in small numbers and groups at Tring Reservoirs and Rye Meads Nature Reserves.

Dunlin

cc: John Bridges

Dunlins nest in boggy uplands in northern parts of the UK, heading to West Africa for the winter. Birds nesting in Iceland and Greenland also stop off here to refuel on their route south. Other dunlins spend the winter in the UK, arriving from breeding grounds in Scandinavia and Russia.

They are small, plump waders with black legs and a medium length, slightly downcurved, black beak. In summer, adults have a reddish-brown back and distinctive black belly patch. In their winter plumage, they’re grey on top and white underneath. Young birds have a scaly-looking brown and black back, with black spots on the breast and belly.

Dunlins are usually found in flocks. Huge numbers gather at coastal sites, but small flocks are often found inland. They’re active birds that run around pecking at the mud. Rarer waders sometimes tag along with flocks of dunlin, but careful study is needed to pick them out.  

Dunlins are a rare sight in Herts and Middlesex but can be seen in small numbers at Tring Reservoirs.