Juvenile Turnstone at Stanwick

Turnstone: does what it says on the can

I spent a good hour with the Turnstone at Stanwick Lakes yesterday. It was pretty quiet there otherwise and the Turnstone was busy feeding, non-stop, on one of the Visitor Centre Lakes. It’s only when you try to digiscope a bird like this that you appreciate just how animated these things are – it did not stand still at all.

This was also a great opportunity to closely study the plumage. Broad, deep buff fringes to the coverts, white fringes to tertials and small, neat white tips to upperparts and primaries easily age this bird as a juvenile. Adults out of breeding plumage are much more uniform in these areas, their feathers being dull brown with only slightly paler fringes.