What they like

Wet, open spots. Short, herb-rich grasslands with ditch edges, soggy hollows and muddy margins. Quiet. A good overview. And not a neatly mown billiard-table. Make it easy for them: leave a corner rougher, mow in stages, keep a ditch bank wide and messy. In parks: a shallow pond, a wet wadi, a muddy shore. In the countryside: mow later and a wet-strip is gold.

Ecological importance

The redshank is your alarm bell for wet grassland that’s still alive. It mainly eats earthworms, insects, larvae and small snails. Many chicks only make it with a buffet of insects in tall, herb-rich grass. Raptors and foxes also take them: so cover and quiet both help.

When in the Netherlands

Mostly March–August as a breeding bird. Passage and migration in spring and autumn; then also along ponds, mudflats and river floodplains.

Status

The breeding population has been declining for years. Vulnerable in our neat, dry country. In suitable wet areas it can still bounce back.