A practical guide to bird watching in Sonoma County, California
(Unless otherwise indicated, all phone numbers are in the 707 area code)
Among the plainest of our fairly common small shorebirds in non-breeding plumage, but among the most distinctive in the breeding plumage we see less often. Usually found on tidal mudflats and along coastal beaches. Probably most easily observed in Sonoma County at Bodega Bay. Dunlin begin arriving in the county usually around mid-September. The birds are then fairly common in appropriate habitat through late April of the following year, when numbers begin to taper off, but often a few birds linger, allowing us to see breeding plumage. Mostly absent here from late May through early September. May be solitary or in small groups but often seen in large flocks as well. Commonly mixes with other shorebirds.
In non-breeding plumage, distinguished by its plain grey coloration, longish bill with a thick base and slightly drooped tip, and its white belly with fine streaking. Dunlin in non-breeding plumage is rather nondescript, but its relatively short-legged, slightly plump outline coupled with the longish, droop-tipped bill usually suffice to identify the bird. Legs are black. Somewhat larger than our small sandpipers or Sanderling (Calidris alba). In breeding plumage, the back feathers become rufous and the bird acquires a black patch on its otherwise white belly that sets it apart from all other shorebirds we normally see (bottom photo). In breeding plumage, most similar to Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis), but that bird does not normally occur in Sonoma County.
Trivia: The name Dunlin is a shortened form of this bird's original name, Dunling, indicating a small brown (or dun-colored) bird.
Further reading:
Bolander and Parmeter, Birds of Sonoma County California, rev. ed., 2000, p. 57
Brinkley, National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Birds of North America, 2007, p. 232
Dunn and Alderfer, eds., National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 5th ed., 2006, p. 178
Dunn and Alderfer, eds., National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 6th ed., 2011, pg. 198
Dunne, Pete Dunne’s Essential Field Guide Companion, 2006, pp. 234-235
Ehrlich, Dobkin, and Wheye, The Birder's Handbook, paperback edition, 1988, p. 146
Fix and Bezener, Birds of Northern California, 2000, p. 162
Floyd, Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 2008, p. 175
Kaufman, Field Guide to Birds of North America, 2000, p. 174
Kaufman, Advanced Birding, 1990, pp. 64-67 (general notes on shorebird ID), pp. 64, 65
Kaufman, Field Guide to Advanced Birding, 2011, pp. 210-241 (general notes on shorebird ID), pp. 8, 212, 214, 215, 220, 228
Lukas, Bay Area Birds: From Sonoma County to Monterey Bay, 2012, pp. 107, 113, 114-115
Parmeter and Wight, Birds of Sonoma County California, Update (2000-2010), 2012, p. 32
Paulson, Shorebirds of North America: The Photographic Guide, 2005, pp. 279-284
Peterson, Birds of Eastern and Central North America, 5th ed., 2002, pp. 152, 162-163
Peterson, Field Guide to Birds of Western North America, 4th ed., 2010, pp. 142, 160-161
Peterson, Western Birds, 3rd ed., 1990, p. 140
Sibley, Field Guide to Birds of Western North America,1st ed., 2003, p. 164
Stokes, Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 1st ed., 2010, p. 271
Vuilleumier, American Museum of Natural History, Birds of North America: Western Region, 2011, p. 160
Voice: Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All About Birds--Dunlin
© Colin Talcroft, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Unless noted, all photos by the author. If you would like to use one of my images, please ask for permission for non-commercial use with proper credit or commercial use with proper compensation.
Dunlin in non-breeding plumage, Westside Park mud flats, Bodega Bay, September 27, 2011
Dunlin (foreground) in non-breeding plumage, with Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri), Westside Park mud flats, Bodega Bay, September 27, 2011. Note relatively long bill with a thick base and drooping tip
Dunlin (at left) in breeding plumage showing black belly patch, rufous back. With Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri, left foreground) and Marbled Godwits (Limosa fedoa).
Bodega Bay, April 1, 2010.
Dunlin
Calidris alpina
1990-2013 Sonoma County data. Graph provided by eBird (www.ebird.org), generated June 29, 2013
EBird reported occurrence in Sonoma County
