Whimbrel

Seen one? Add it to your free UK BirdedexHear its song and see the mapFree, no app download. Uncommon bird: +3 points when you log it.

Whimbrel in the UK

Whimbrel is mainly a passage migrant. Birds travelling between Africa and breeding grounds from Iceland to Siberia pass through in April and May and return from July to September. A small population also breeds in the far north of Scotland: the last full estimate was 310 pairs in 2009, with about three quarters of the range in Shetland and smaller numbers in Orkney, the Western Isles and Caithness. A few dozen now stay for the winter, mostly on southern coasts. Red-listed, and protected under Schedule 1.

Where and when to see a Whimbrel

Spring passage is the easy time. From mid April to mid May check estuaries, saltmarsh, rocky shores and coastal pasture anywhere in Britain, with the biggest flocks in the west. Birds also drop onto inland wetlands and call overhead at night. Autumn birds pass from July to September and are more thinly spread. For breeding birds, visit RSPB Fetlar in Shetland between May and July and watch from roads and paths. Learn the call first: most Whimbrels are heard before they are seen.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Northern moors (summer); coast (passage).
Diet: Crabs, insects.
Field note: Smaller than Curlew; striped crown.

How to identify a Whimbrel

Like a small, dark Curlew, clearly smaller, with a shorter bill that is straight for most of its length and bends near the tip. The head pattern is the clincher: a dark crown split by a pale central stripe, a pale stripe over the eye and a dark line through it. Curlew has a plain face. In flight Whimbrel shows a white wedge up the back and has faster wingbeats than Curlew. It often feeds on drier ground, picking from the surface.

Call and song

A fast, even run of about seven whistles on one pitch, "pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi-pi". It carries a long way and is given freely in flight, day and night. Curlew never does this. The song on the breeding grounds is a bubbling trill close to Curlew. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Eurasian Curlew: Curlew is bigger and paler-faced, with a longer, evenly curved bill, no crown stripes and a rising "cur-lee" call.
• Bar-tailed Godwit: Bar-tailed Godwit is similar in size and brown tones but its bill is straight or slightly upturned, never downcurved.
• Hudsonian Whimbrel: The American species, a very rare vagrant here, has a brown rump and back with no white wedge.

Month by month

A passage migrant. Look for it on spring and autumn movements rather than through the summer. Numbers peak in April. See the April birding guide for what else is about. More on the season in Bird migration in Britain.

Taller bars mean more birds about. Grey means it is usually absent.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Whimbrel is an Uncommon tier bird, worth +3 points when you log one. It is Red-listed in Birds of Conservation Concern 5, the highest level of concern in the UK. It is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so it is an offence to disturb it at or near the nest. We blur the location of every sighting of this species.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Eurasian CurlewCommon · Moorland (summer); estuaries (winter)
• Eskimo CurlewLegendary · Grassland (probably extinct)
• Hudsonian WhimbrelLegendary · Saltmarsh
• Little WhimbrelLegendary · Short grass (extreme vagrant)
• Arctic SkuaUncommon · Northern moors (summer); sea (passage)
• Arctic TernUncommon · Northern coasts (summer)

Whimbrel: quick answers

What is the difference between Whimbrel and Curlew?

Size, bill, face and voice. Whimbrel is smaller with a shorter bill kinked near the tip, a striped crown and a rippling seven-note whistle. Curlew is larger with a long, smoothly curved bill, a plain head and a slow "cur-lee". If a lone bird gives you no size comparison, look at the crown.

When is the best time to see Whimbrel?

The last week of April and the first two weeks of May, when most of the spring passage goes through. Autumn passage runs from July to September. A curlew-like bird in midwinter is almost always a Curlew, though a few Whimbrels now overwinter on south coasts.

What does a Whimbrel eat?

On the coast it takes crabs, shrimps, marine worms and small molluscs, using the curved bill to reach into crevices and burrows. On breeding moors it switches to insects, spiders and snails, and eats crowberries and other berries in late summer.

Kit that helps

Best spotting scopes for UK birding. Affiliate links, our own picks, no extra cost to you.