A ‘trip’ in the hills


Head for the high tops in summer and you may come across one of our most unusual birds, as Andy Douse of SNH’s species group explains


The dotterel nests in a bare ground scrape and lays two to four eggs. The male is generally responsible for incubation and looks after the chicks.


Scotland’s mountain tops often appear barren, almost lifeless, with a great expanse of bare ground speckled with patches of moss and wind-clipped grass. Few animals are ever seen apart from the occasional eagle soaring on high, the odd raven and a few hardy meadow pipits.


But there are a number of really special birds that are at home in this spartan environment. Ptarmigan, snow bunting and dotterel are the best known species, and a welcome sight for hill walkers who may see little else during a day in the hills. Dotterel are among the most


remarkable of all these species, with a breeding strategy quite unlike most birds. The adults spend the winter in Africa – probably Morocco from the few recoveries of ringed birds – but then in spring head north again. It’s during this return migration that


birds can be seen along the hills of Britain at traditional stopping places. These parties – curiously known as ‘trips’ – are only on passage, but in Scotland some of these birds may stay


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behind to breed. In fact, it’s only on Scotland’s high tops that the dotterel can be seen in Britain in summer. Most live on the gravelly plateaux of the Cairngorms National Park or nearby high tops to the west and northwest. Females stay around only as long


as it takes to complete a clutch before they move on to mate again, sometimes up to five times with different partners. Some of these birds may fly farther north into Norway, others may remain in Scotland to find unpaired males. Unusually, the female is brighter


than the male, which reinforces the role reversal that the birds display in raising their young. Much of the brooding and chick rearing is undertaken by the males, and it’s in June when birds are seen with small chicks, and most of the adults are males. While the dotterel males incubate


the brood, they can leave the eggs unattended for periods of between two and ten hours, in temperatures as low as 0°C, while they seek food. In 2000, Scottish researchers discovered that, contrary to previous belief, the eggs still hatch if their temperature has dropped to these levels during incubation, although they take longer to do so.


Despite being one of our most


handsome birds, the name is uncomplimentary. In English, a ‘dotterel’ is a rather slow-witted, dull person. Indeed, its Latin name morinellus means slow and rather stupid. It’s thought that the name comes from the bird’s trusting nature, which allowed it to be easily caught. In 1999 it was estimated that there


were 630 breeding males present in Scotland, but that figure may be lower now as dotterel are thought to be in decline. It's not clear though how extensive this drop in numbers has been or why it’s happening. So SNH are working with RSPB to plan a new survey along with some much needed research, building on work undertaken by SNH many years ago. The mountain zone is likely to be


one of the most sensitive environments when it comes to climate change, so the decline may be an early indication of change as summers warm.Whatever the cause, the decline of this most unusual of birds is something to be concerned about. The loss of its sad call and its splendid plumage from our mountain summits would be something to truly regret.


The Nature of Scotland


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