Bird of the Month: Ruddy Turnstone
Written by Andy McCormick
Andy McCormick, Volunteer and Former Board President of Eastside Audubon
The Ruddy Turnstone is a bird of the shorelines and is most often seen in Washington along the outer coast during spring and fall migration.
The male Ruddy Turnstone in spring sports a bold pattern of black and white with bright chestnut wing and back patches and bright orange legs. The female has a browner rufous plumage. However, both sexes show an intricate pattern of black and white while in flight. Both have white wing stripes, white on the back and at the base of the tail. The chestnut color also shows well on the male in flight. In fall, male and female adults and juveniles will appear browner overall.
TURNING STONES
Ruddy Turnstone
Scientific Name: Arenaria interpres
Length: 9.5”
Wingspan: 21”
Weight: 3.9 oz (110 g)
AOU Alpha Code: RUTU
The turnstone’s characteristic stone-turning foraging behavior is augmented by high-speed movement along the beach. It moves quickly from place to place, often weaving among other shorebirds. While most often seen foraging on mudflats, turnstones have a varied diet of insects, crustaceans including crabs and barnacles, mollusks, worms, sea urchins, and sometimes they will eat the eggs of other birds (Kaufman). They will also work the wrack line on a beach poking under seaweed or debris left behind as the tide recedes.
The Ruddy Turnstone is dependent on shoreline habitat, and it is placed in the genus Arenaria, from the Latin harenarius, meaning of the sand. However, it is also present on rocky beaches and gets its common English name from its habit of turning over small rocks, leaves, and other items while looking for food. The species epithet interpres is from the Latin for messenger. The turnstone was thought to provide warnings for other birds (Holloway; Helm).
BREEDS WORLDWIDE IN THE HIGH ARCTIC
Ruddy Turnstones nest in wet tundra in the circumpolar Arctic. The nest is usually a shallow depression in the ground lined with leaves. The male and female share parenting responsibilities. The female takes the lead in incubating the eggs over a three-week period. Shortly after hatching the young leave the nest and at this point, the male takes over the caregiving and leads the young to food. However, the young feed themselves. Once this transition is completed, the female departs and often begins its southward migration before the young can fly. First flight for the young occurs at about three weeks of age (Kaufman).
STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION
The Ruddy Turnstone is an amazingly wide-ranging and completely migratory species. After breeding in the Arctic of North America and Eurasia, turnstones will disperse along large lakes and coastlines to winter in Eastern Asia and both coasts of North and South America, through the Baltic states and Mediterranean and both coasts of Africa and the Indian Ocean. A 1996 estimate of the worldwide population of Ruddy Turnstones produced a range of 259,000 to 544,000 birds (Nettleship).
Some Pacific Ruddy Turnstones complete an oval-shaped migration route (Nettleship). Beginning in spring they migrate north along the eastern coast of Asia and the Pacific Islands to breed in the high Arctic. As they disperse after breeding in early fall, they migrate south along the west coast of North America. These southward migrants will reach Washington in late July and August. Some will winter along the coasts of Washington and Oregon, but most will fly farther south and winter along the coast of California, Mexico, and South America. At Ocean Shores, Ruddy Turnstones often associate with Black Turnstones, Rock Sandpipers, and Surfbirds, and may be observed at high tide at the Brown Point Jetty.
CONSERVATION
The principle threat to Ruddy Turnstones and other shorebirds is the changing nature of shorelines worldwide. Human development is a direct threat to important migration stopover feeding and resting locations. Because the Ruddy Turnstone is a long-distance migrant, the northern nesting and southern wintering locations, and the stopover sites linking the two end points are in need of protection at both the national and international levels (Nettleship).
Photo credit Mick Thompson.
References available upon request from amccormick@eastsideaudubon.org.