adult

adult in flight European distribution adult

Identification

Whimbrels look very much like Curlews and have similarly down-curved bills but they are smaller, with shorter bills and obvious stripes through the crown. In flight their smaller size and quicker wing beats are the best ways of separating them, unless they call.

Habitat

Breeds on damp moorland and lakesides. Winters on muddy estuaries and rocky shores.

Behaviour

Often perches on posts such as the tops of telegraph poles.

Migration

Birds return to their breeding areas April to June, departing by October. They winter mainly along the coast of west Africa.

This information is taken from the BirdFile on the appropriate BirdGuides DVD-ROM. As well as video and sounds, our CD- and DVD-ROMs contain additional text on Voice, Sexing, Ageing, Food, Nests and Eggs and more.

For the purposes of our bird news services, Whimbrel is classed as Local: generally fairly regular or common species that a 'county lister' or a birding beginner might be interested in going to see. (Note that rarity levels are currently applied nationally and may not reflect local variations in abundance.)

Spurn, E Yorks 25/08/2010	Dinham Flats, Cornwall 12/08/2010	Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex 11/08/2010	Oare Marshes, Kent 04/08/2010	Oare Marshes, Kent 02/08/2010
Pennington Marshes, Hants 31/07/2010	Pennington Marshes, Hants 31/07/2010	Druridge Pools, Northumbs 26/07/2010	Al Wakra Beach, Al Wakrah, Qatar 22/07/2010	Hauxley, Northumbs 21/07/2010

 View all pictures of Whimbrel

Whimbrel breeds in the following countries (Bird News Extra subscribers will see population statistics and information on trends for each country):

Belarus
Britain
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
Greenland
Iceland
Latvia
Norway
Russia
Sweden

http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob5380.htm   BTO BirdFacts: Whimbrel	Edit this link
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	Whimbrel Satellite Tracking Update	Friday 17th August 2007
	This year birds were again fitted with satellite transmitters at their important staging site in the Lower Derwent Valley in North Yorkshire. Find out more about the movements of 'Wallace', one of the birds that was caught.   read on
	The Spring Passage of Whimbrels	Wednesday 18th April 2007
	During April and May large numbers of Whimbrels migrate from their West African wintering grounds and pass through Europe.   read on
	Colour-ringed, and satellite-tagged, Whimbrel	Tuesday 21st March 2006
	Last spring a Whimbrel was fitted with a satellite tag at the Wheldrake Ings staging site in North Yorkshire. 'Wally' has since wintered in West Africa and is due to depart the wintering area soon. Find out more about the satellite-tagging project.   read on
	Whimbrel - The May Bird	Wednesday 30th April 2003
	The spring Whimbrel roost at Wheldrake Ings in North Yorkshire has long been an exciting feature of the site. Local birder Dave Tate provides some background on staging sites for the species.
	Possible Hudsonian Whimbrel – Frodsham (Cheshire), 26th June 2002	Thursday 4th July 2002
	The birder's motto should be 'always expect the unexpected', as Mike Anderson found out one evening in late June when he stumbled across a dark-rumped Whimbrel...
	Spring Whimbrel Roosts in Lancashire	Tuesday 23rd April 2002
	A local perspective on this topical migrant by Blackpool birder Steve Dunstan

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