Common Redshank

Above: Common Redshank (winter adult)
Below: Juvenile

The common redshank is another common wader that you should have no trouble finding and photographing at any time of the year. They are resident in the UK so you can find them at all times but their numbers are swollen in autumn and winter by the arrival of thousands more from colder areas in the North. When numbers increase it can be easier to get closer to get really excellent pictures, although these birds are always relatively easy to photograph compared to some waders.

The bird is mostly pale brown above and white or buff below. In winter the colours are more even and plain, with the back being plain light brown and the underside plain white. The breast is buff with some mild streaking. In summer the bird becomes much more unevenly coloured, with heavy streaking or spots on both the upper and lower sides. The buff brown head has a pale diffused eye ring and sometimes an eye-brow stripe and the beak is orange at the base changing to black halfway to wards the tip. The legs are a gaudy orange in all plumages, hence the birds name. Juveniles lack the orange on the beak and their legs do not show the same vivid colouration as their parents, as you can see in the bottom photograph on the left.

You can find these birds almost anywhere around the coast of North West England and North Wales. They can be found on rocky and sandy shores but seem to prefer rocky shores for roosting. Large numbers are to be found at rocky places around the North Wirral Coast and Dee Estuary. Also at areas along the Sefton coast of Lancashire. I've seen and photographed these birds at the Point of Ayr ~ Clwyd, West Kirby ~ Wirral, Hoylake ~ Wirral, Wallasey ~ Wirral, New Brighton ~ Wirral, Inner Marsh farm ~ Wirral, Neumann's Flash ~ Cheshire, Pennington Flash ~ Greater Manchester, Marshside ~ Lancashire and Leighton Moss ~ Lancashire. Absolutely any of these locations should be good enough, on most days (except for the more inland sites of Neumann's and Pennington), with a little patience and preferably at high tide, to get a reasonably decent photo of a common redshank. I particularly like Nell's Hide at Marshside RSPB, Southport in late August and Early September, when large numbers of common redshanks are present and this along with the volume of other birds present, pushes them closer to the hide.