Over the autumn and winter months, Kimmeridge is visited by a variety of wading birds that come to feast on the insects and invertebrates living in the washed up seaweed. The dunlin, Calidris alpina, with it's slightly curved bill and mottled brown upper feathers, is a highly active little sandpiper and is one of many species often spotted in Stink Corner, the area in Kimmeridge notorious for it's rotting seaweed aroma. The Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula, is a small shy bird with a distinctive clockwork appearance running about the beach. Both birds have resident populations that are increased by 100,000's over winter, using Britain as an important resting and refuelling stage on their long journeys from Greenland and Iceland to Southern Europe and North Africa. Other visitors include sanderling. whimbrel, curlew, little egret and shelduck as well as regular populations of rock pipits and a variety of wagtails.
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