Dunlin, Calidris alpina

Dunlin, Calidris alpina. Photograph taken on the beach in Longboat Key, Florida, January 2020.

Dunlin, Calidris alpina. Photographs taken on the beach in the greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida, January 2023. Photographs and identification courtesy of Faith Hubsch, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a member of the Scolopacidae Family of Sandpipers and Allies. In Mexico they are found in the coastal regions within the Atlantic Slope in the States of Tamaulipas and Veracruz, and within the Pacific Slope in the States of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa at low elevations. From a conservation perspective the Dunlin is currently considered to be of Least Concern; however, their overall populations are decreasing. They are found resting on sandbars and beaches in coastal areas protected from open surf including bays, ocean beaches, estuaries, and tidewater flats. They primarily consume mollusks and polychaetae worms.