Each spring wading birds return to the uplands to breed. Some have wintered around the coast and estuaries of Scotland. Some Greenshanks have returned from as far south as West Africa.

Golden Plover and Dunlin are both common enough around the Scottish coast in winter. It is likely that these birds will breeders from much further north. The Scottish population would have moved in the UK, the Low Countries and even West Africa in the case of Dunlin.

Dunlin in breeding plumage.

Dotterel return to breed on only a few of the highest mountain tops, mainly in the Central and Eastern Highlands.