Dunlin (Calidris alpina)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bird > Bird |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Both Breeding & Non-breeding) [VU(br/nbr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Calidris alpina |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Stanbury et al., 2021 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | No Eng breeding trend. Eng WeBS trends (25 yr -44%, 10 yr -9%) |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Need to determine Eng breeding population. Decline in wintering numbers. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Removal of forestry plantations around moorland nesting areas, but needs targeting around suitable peatland landscapes. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | England breeding population info needed. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Develop and implement monitoring plan to produce estimates and trends of breeding numbers in England.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: N and S Pennines SPAs, NW Saltmarshes, Dartmoor, Peak District, West Pennine Moors
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Habitat restoration and management at key sites including peatland restoration at upland sites and saltmarsh grazing supported by trial management.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: N and S Pennines SPAs; Dartmoor, NW Estuaries
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Consider and as appropriate implement the recommendations of SPA reviews for this species. This should include both outstanding actions from the 2001 SPA Review and additional recommendations of the 2016 SPA Review. Up to date evidence is also required.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Site protection
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments: N and S Pennines not formally classified for breeding Dunlin as per 2001 SPA Review recommendations.
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.