Description: Ruddy Turnstone standing on a pebble beach. The bird is facing to the right of the frame. The background is blurred grey and white waves.
The Ruddy Turnstone is a dumpy wader with a black bill, white undersides and brown mottled plumage above.
The Ruddy Turnstone is considered to be a wader, but unlike most other waders, it uses its shortish, sharp bill to turn over stones, shells and seaweed when searching for food, rather than probing the ground for invertebrates.
Juveniles, and adults in winter, are primarily dark grey-brown above (and on the head), and white underneath. Males in summer plumage are a much brighter orange-brown colour above, with black and white patterning on the head. Year-round, the bill is dark, and the legs are orange.
Ruddy Turnstones can be found at the coast all around the UK. Given that they can be seen year-round in the UK, you might assume that they are resident, but that is not the case. Some birds winter in the UK, some pass through on migration, and non-breeding birds may sometimes spend the summer in the UK. They actually breed in the Arctic, but can turn up almost anywhere worldwide. To my surprise, I even saw a lone Ruddy Turnstone on one of the small islands of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in December 2024.
Many UK birders will know the Ruddy Turnstone well, but there is one other type of Turnstone that many of us will be much less familiar with. The Black Turnstone is extremely similar to the Ruddy in shape, size and feeding technique (the clue is still in the name!), but it lacks the rufous colouration. In terms of range, the Black Turnstone is primarily restricted to the Pacific coast of North America (from Baja California to Alaska).