Dunlin
Calidris alpina
Live from the dock
Active 50 minutes across 18 days since September 2026. Last heard 6 days ago.
In our recordsHear the call
When you'll hear it
Most often heard around midday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Quiet around dawn.
Minutes active by hour, as a table
| 12 AM | 1 AM | 2 AM | 3 AM | 4 AM | 5 AM | 6 AM | 7 AM | 8 AM | 9 AM | 10 AM | 11 AM | NOON | 1 PM | 2 PM | 3 PM | 4 PM | 5 PM | 6 PM | 7 PM | 8 PM | 9 PM | 10 PM | 11 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minutes active | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Across the year
Present from late-September through November. First heard this year on September 28.
Dock records
- First heard
- September 28, 2026
- Busiest day
- 5 minutes on October 2, 2026
- Earliest call
- 1:25 a.m.
- Days detected
- 18 of 183 days monitored
What our dock mics have heard
We don't hear the Dunlin very often, 18 of 183 days so far. It's #68 of 107 species by minutes active (50).
The busiest month was October, with 38 minutes active. May, June, July and August came up empty. Best single day so far was October 2, 2026, 5 minutes active. We started listening on May 2, 2026, so there's nothing for December through April yet.
| Month | Days heard | Minutes active |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 0 of 20 | 0 |
| June 2026 | 0 of 30 | 0 |
| July 2026 | 0 of 31 | 0 |
| August 2026 | 0 of 31 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 2 of 30 | 5 |
| October 2026 | 14 of 31 | 38 |
| November 2026 | 2 of 10 | 7 |
We don't see much of an early or late pattern. The top hour so far is 1 p.m. at 14% of its minutes.
Lately it's about the same as it's been, 7 of the last 30 days.
Heard alongside
These are the birds we hear most in the same hours as the Dunlin. An hour counts as shared when the mics pick up both in it, and we pick the list by how much their hours overlap.
- Northern Flicker: in 26 of the 43 hours.
- Downy Woodpecker: in 17 of the 43 hours.
- Common Grackle: in 15 of the 43 hours.
- Red-tailed Hawk: in 11 of the 43 hours.
- Palm Warbler: in 5 of the 43 hours.
Common questions
What time of day do you hear a Dunlin at Watts Bar Lake?
Most often heard around midday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Quiet around dawn. These are the hours the dock microphones detect the Dunlin most often.
What time of year is the Dunlin at Watts Bar Lake?
Present from late-September through November. First heard this year on September 28. That window is when the Dunlin has been audible from the Watts Bar Lake dock.
Has the Dunlin been heard at Watts Bar Lake?
Yes. Active 50 minutes across 18 days since September 2026. Last heard 6 days ago.
About the bird
The dunlin is a small wader in the genus Calidris. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from dun, "dull brown", with the suffix -ling, meaning a person or thing with the given quality.
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