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Records through the year
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Distribution
Dunlin   Calidris alpina
Scarce and patchily distributed. Occurs as a breeding bird on west Spitsbergen, where it is most often found on the damp and most fertile parts of the wide valleys on Nordenskiöldland.  It is for example a common breeding bird in the lower part of Adventdalen. Often seen feeding solitarily or in small flocks in the tidal zone in the river deltas or on beaches mainly on west Spitsbergen. Probably fewer than 300 pairs breed.   

Features: 17-21 cm. Slightly smaller and slimmer than Purple Sandpiper. ♂=♀, but the male usually has a clearer and more extensive black belly. The Dunlins on Svalbard cannot be assigned to any definite subspecies and are therefore regarded as an intermediate population. The young lack the dark belly but otherwise resemble the adults. A rolling «krrrryy» is often heard. At the nest site a display flight that can be heard far away, a rising «rryy rryy rryy» in long series.   

​Breeding: Nests most often in damp and grassy places. The nest is often well hidden in dense grass tussocks.