The purple sandpiper is probably one of the scarcer regular winter visiting waders to Dorset. A small number come every year to a select number of sites and are present for quite some time but reports are somewhat limited. They can be difficult to see without a close look for them as they like rocky coasts and they get down amongst the rocks near the seaweeds. They nest much further north; a small number in Scotland but mainly in Iceland, northern Scandinavia and the Arctic circle. They overwinter around the rocky shorelines of Britain as well as further south along the Atlantic coasts of France, Spain and Portugal. Some birds we see in Dorset are passage migrants but generally the small groups here tend to stay the whole winter.
The weekly reporting chart shows that they mainly start to arrive for their winter vacation in week 45 at the beginning of November although in some years there are a small number of reports in October. Numbers peak in January and February and then start to decline and they have all gone north to nest by week 20 at the end of May. Unlike some waders it seems none stay here for the summer months.
Whilst there are reports from nine locations in Dorset it seems there are four places that they regularly visit in winter; some can be seen on or near the Cobb in Lyme Regis, there are always a small number on the rocks to the west of the lighthouse at Portland Bill, some can be seen on the rocks by the Haven Hotel and at low tide on the rocky spur on the opposite side of Poole Harbour entrance and the fourth group gather around the entrance to Christchurch Harbour and can often be seen on the sandspit opposite Mudeford Quay.
For purple sandpiper on your Dorset list visit any of the four listed locations depending on where you live.
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