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The UK Bird Atlas

Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)Where and when to see it in the UK

Status not yet classified · reporting peaks August to September · Sandpipers and Allies · BOU category AF

Records to 2026-08-16 · build 2026-08-31

Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Peak months
Greenshank: relative reporting rate by 10 km square, September

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (grid squares, place names from OS Open Names). Northern Ireland place names: OSNI Open Data, OGL v3.0. County and country boundaries: Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0. Coastline: Natural Earth. Bird records from the data partners listed here.

Greenshank has been recorded in 1,181 of the 2,971 10 km squares covering UK land (40%) in records to 2026. Its strongest squares are in England, Scotland and Wales. Reporting peaks in August to September.

Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN Red List, LC)
View on the IUCN Red List
Relative to this species' best squares (how classes are calculated)
Very high
28% or more of visits
High
8% to 28%
Moderate
2% to 8%
Low
under 2%
Surveyed, not recorded
at least 20 qualifying visits, no record
Insufficient records
too few visits to say
Lighter fill
Few visits, lower confidence
Small dot
Occasional: a single record, or out of season

Seasonality

Reporting rate by month, relative to the peak month
MonthRelative to peakShare of visitsTypical class
January 18%1%Very high
February 18%1%Very high
March 14%1%Very high
April 28%2%Low
May 24%2%Low
June 9%<1%Low
July 42%4%Very high
August 100%8%High
September 85%7%High
October 50%4%High
November 22%2%Very high
December 16%1%Very high

Squares with the highest reporting rate in August

SquareWhereShare of visitsClass
HP50Shetland Islands, Scotland100%Very high
HU30Shetland Islands, Scotland100%Very high
HU32Shetland Islands, Scotland100%Very high
HU37Shetland Islands, Scotland100%Very high
HU38Shetland Islands, Scotland100%Very high
HU40Shetland Islands, Scotland100%Very high
HU44Shetland Islands, Scotland100%Very high
J33Newry, Mourne and Down, Northern Ireland100%Very high
J34Newry, Mourne and Down, Northern Ireland100%Very high
NC14Highland, Scotland100%Very high

Spotted an error in a square? Report it and it goes into the review queue. Read the methodology for how classes, flags and sensitive-species rules work. Data to 2026.