A few pictures of a some recent waders including a pair of breeding Dunlin, a late staying Purple Sandpiper and a migrating Whimbrel.
While Dunlin were never a common breeding wader in Ireland their numbers have crashed like most breeding waders in recent decades. The last breeding population was judged to be just 150 pairs in 2008 (Lauder et al., 2008). I would think that the number is probably even half of that now at the very most. During the 2007 - 2011 Bird Atlas they were only recorded breeding in counties Galway, Mayo and Donegal. Most are to be found in Mayo. One of the few breeding locations in Galway was within the recent large "Cloosh Forest fire" which has destroyed the area of quaking blanket bog where they found breeding in. They start breeding much later than other wader species.
While Dunlin were never a common breeding wader in Ireland their numbers have crashed like most breeding waders in recent decades. The last breeding population was judged to be just 150 pairs in 2008 (Lauder et al., 2008). I would think that the number is probably even half of that now at the very most. During the 2007 - 2011 Bird Atlas they were only recorded breeding in counties Galway, Mayo and Donegal. Most are to be found in Mayo. One of the few breeding locations in Galway was within the recent large "Cloosh Forest fire" which has destroyed the area of quaking blanket bog where they found breeding in. They start breeding much later than other wader species.
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| Female schinzii Dunlin |
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| Male schinzii Dunlin |
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| Male schinzii Dunlin |
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| Male schinzii Dunlin |
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| Second calendar Purple Sandpiper in breeding plumage. |
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| Whimbrel |
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| Whimbrel |
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