Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

County List:

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested or Nonforested Landscapes

Migration Habitat:
      (Lake or Pond or River)
   adjacent to:
      Shorelines/Mudflats

Habitat List:

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Literature:

The Ruddy Turnstone nests on high Arctic tundra of North America and Eurasia and winters along the coastlines of six continents. In migration, it is seen mainly along the coast, although numbers may stop over at favored points inland, especially along the Great Lakes.

Habitat: Beaches, mudflats, jetties, rocky shorelines, rock jetties, or beaches covered with seaweed or debris. May also feed on mudflats or on plowed fields near coast. Nests on open ground in Arctic, including wet tundra and dry rocky ridges.

Diet: Variable, includes insects, crustaceans, mollusks. In breeding season mostly insects, also spiders, seeds, berries, moss. At other seasons eats crustaceans (including barnacles, crabs, amphipods), mollusks, worms, sea urchins, small fish. Will eat carrion, also food scraps at garbage dumps. Sometimes eats eggs of other birds.