Best time to see: Sep to Mar
Key facts
Large brown wader with long decurved bill and familiar bubbling call
Habitat: estuaries, moors and freshwater marshes
Common winter visitor; small numbers breed on moorland of N. and W. Britain and Ireland
Recognition
Large wader with streaked brown upperparts, long decurved bill and pale legs; 55 cm
Call is a loud 'Coor-lee', and an excited bubbling call in summer
Often forms large flocks on estuaries, eating crabs, molluscs and worms; in flight white 'V' extends up rump
Lifecycle
Nest is a hollow on the ground, lined with grass or heather
One brood April–June; 4 olive eggs blotched brown
© Ken Billington