The redshank is a wading bird often found on livestock farms. They prefer damp pasture susceptible to flooding and marsh, usually with some standing water and tussocky grasses or sedges. Redshank are also found on machair, coastal grazing marsh and saltmarsh.

Redshank tend to nest on sites that have been lightly grazed to produce short vegetation interspersed with tussocks, which provide cover. These birds feed by pecking and probing for earthworms, beetles, spiders, aquatic insects and flies. Their chicks feed by searching for midges and other flies found at the edges of pools and ditches.

In winter Scottish redshank move south into England and southern Ireland, with some continuing on to Atlantic coasts from the Netherlands to Portugal. Redshank that are found overwintering in Scotland breed in Iceland. These birds spend the winter on both coastal mudflats and rocky shores, where they feed on marine worms, molluscs, shrimps and small crabs.

The Rural Stewardship Scheme, Prescription 5 in particular, offers opportunities to manage for redshank and other farmland waders.