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The best
campsite on my recent stay in Greenland was on the
edge of a stony beach. Small flocks of sanderlings and
turnstones came there to feed. They had reared their
young on the tundra inland and were now preparing for
migration. At night, I would lie in my tent listening
to the clicking of pebbles as the turnstones flipped
them with their beaks in search of small animals
lurking underneath.
As with other
waders, the turnstone's diet varies through the year
and includes both terrestrial and seashore
invertebrates and, less frequently, seeds and berries.
The turnstone is particularly catholic in its diet and
feeding methods. While
visiting a small nature reserve in the Florida Keys, I
had turnstones running around my feet and fed them on
crumbs. (I later saw the sign that told me feeding the
wildlife was an offence!)
Nearly 40
years ago, there was correspondence in the monthly
magazine British Birds about stranger feeding
habits. It started with a letter about a turnstone
that was seen inside the body cavity of a dead sheep.
The editors noted an earlier article that was
accompanied by a photo of a turnstone feeding on a
dead wolf in arctic Canada. It was followed a few
months later by a description of five turnstones
feeding on a human corpse washed up on a beach. At
this point, the editors declared that 'it was now
sufficiently established that Turnstones will probably
turn to any animal carrion'. The subject was closed
but I still think the account is incomplete without a
record of this adaptable bird picking pieces off a
stranded whale.
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