Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

Description: Ruddy turnstones are in the sandpiper family and flock and forage in groups like the other sandpipers that winter on the Oregon Coast. Ruddy turnstones have a speckled dark brown back and a white chest and stomach. Unlike many other shore birds in the area they have orange legs and black beak.

Habitat: Nesting in the arctic and wintering as far South as Columbia and Venezuela, ruddy turnstones have an extensive range. Ruddy turnstones breed along the coast of Greenland, throughout island in the Arctic Ocean, and along the coast of Northern Russia. They migrate though Canada and spend the non-breeding season along the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts as well as through out the islands of the Caribbean.

Nesting: Males are territorial and partners choose a nesting site with in the males protected territory. Females build ground nest in the tundra and

Diet: This species forages by over turning rocks and debris as well as probing in the sand. Ruddy turnstones eat a variety of invertebrates, including insects, crustaceans, worms, sea urchins, barnacles, fish, and carrion.

Tide Pool Tidbits:

• When foraging, ruddy turnstones work together to flip over an object that is too heavy for one bird to manage.

• As soon as 2 days after ruddy turnstones learn to fly, they begin their first migration thousands of miles South.

• The oldest recorded ruddy turnstone in the wild was nearly 17 years old.

Reference: The Cornell Lab, Audubon