Ongewone sterfte van Steenlopers Arenaria interpres aan de Noordhollandse kust in september 1995

An unusal number of 24 (fresh) corpses of Turnstones were found on a stretch of only 1000m of dike in Noord-Holland, late September 1995. All birds were adults, either showing active primary moult or with just renewed flight feathers. Most corpses were pecked on, but the mortality was obviously not caused by a raptor of some sort. All birds that could be checked were otherwise a in good condition (minimum body mass values of 89-102 g, average SMV index = 0.263 g/cm3). Biometrics were typical for adult Turnstones wintering in The Netherlands. One year earlier, in August 1994 and at the very same spot, a flock of six Turnstones was killed together by some timber washing over the roosting flock. Although no such traces were observed in the most recent case, an accident of some sort is perhaps the most likely cause of death.