The redshank is a medium-sized wading bird. It has longish red legs and a long, straight bill. It is grey-brown above and whitish below. In flight, it shows very obvious white rear edges to the wings and a white 'V-shape' up its back. The greatest concentrations of breeding birds are in parts of Scotland and north-west England. In winter, as many as half of the birds in Britain may be from Iceland. The numbers breeding on farmland are declining, due to drainage of farmland. Overgrazing of coastal marshes is also removing breeding habitat and breeding birds are increasingly dependent on nature reserves.

This adult bird was photographed near the Derwent Reservoir in County Durham. In approx. 10 metres I saw four separate pairs of Redshank and each pair were keeping close watch over their chicks as they fed in the last sunlight of the day. Like a lot of birds they sought out a vantage point, in this case a fence post, to keep as a best look as possible.

At first I was disappointed that there was a length of fishing line around its left leg. However /I now think it highlights the dangers to wildlife, of people throwing rubbish away and hopefully it may make everyone think twice before they do it in future.