Dotterel

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Dotterel, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Red listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	Yes
Birds Directive Annex 1	Yes
Listed on the Annexes of	WCA(I), WBD(I), Bern(III), Bonn(II), AEWA

As a montane species, the Dotterel is difficult to monitor and numbers reported to the RBBP are often only a small fraction of the population. The vast majority of the breeding population is found in the Scottish Highlands, but breeding was confirmed in Cumbria in 2019 and probable breeding occurred in Meirionydd in the same year (Eaton et al. 2021). The Atlas data show a 78% range expansion in terms of the number of 10-km squares occupied since 1968–72 but this is believed to be due to improved observer coverage rather than a genuine change (Balmer et al. 2013). A decline in population was noted between the 1987–88 and 1999 surveys (Whitfield 1999) and a further decline was noted by the time of the 2011 survey, with large declines observed within the core population in the east Highlands (Hayhow et al. 2015).

Dotterels breed mainly in the Grampian Mountains, with smaller numbers in the northwest Highlands, with occasional outlying pairs in southwest Scotland and Cumbria.

The apparent 78% range expansion since the 1968–72 Breeding Atlas, most evident in northwest Scotland, is probably largely due to improved coverage.

Dotterels are summer visitors, most often reported during spring passage and less so when in their montane breeding habitat; rare in winter.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing

10 years 10 months 1 days (set in 1998)

Ring size	C2
Field Codes	2-letter: DO | 5-letter code: DOTTE | Euring: 4820

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Causes of change

Redistribution of birds to Fennoscandia and problems on the wintering grounds have been suggested as possible causes of the decline in Scotland (Whitfield 2002). It should be noted that Dotterel is an itinerant breeder: individual birds are not necessarily faithful to one breeding site and may move to or from Scandinavia both within and between summers, hence differences between surveys may simply represent differing conditions during the survey years (Whitfield 2002). However, the strength of the decline to 2011 may be evidence that conditions on the Scottish breeding grounds have worsened, with possible drivers including land use changes, nitrogen deposition and the effects of climate change (Hayhow et al. 2015). There are concerns that montane species such as Dotterel will be among the most vulnerable in the UK to the effects of climate change (REF).