Sandpiper

“ It is appreciably different from the call of any other sandpiper known to me, although not so very unlike that of the sanderling.
Field marks.—The Baird sandpiper is one of the most difficult of all this group to recognize in the field, because it has no prominent distinguishing field marks peculiar to itself. It has characters in common with any one of several small sandpipers. In color and general appearance it is most like the least sandpiper; it is decidedly larger, but size is of little value unless the two are side by side for comparison ”

“ This is the smallest of our Sandpipers, being under six inches in length. Except for size, they are similar in appearance to Baird's Sandpiper, only the back is browner. A very abundant species during migrations, being found on the seashore or in marshes, nearly always in company with other species of the family. Their nests are the same as other Sandpipers, and the eggs are grayish, thickly specked with brown. Size 1.15 × .80. Data.--Peel River, Arctic America, June 20, 1899. Nest simply a depression in the river bank, lined with grass.
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Red-backed Sandpiper. ”

“ There is grace in the glancing sandpiper—nor, though somewhat fantastical, is the water-wagtail inelegant—either belle or beau—an outlandish bird that makes himself at home wherever he goes, and, vain as he looks, is contented if but one admire him in a solitary place—though it is true that we have seen them in half-dozens on the midden in front of the cottage door. ”

“ The white-rumped, or Bonaparte, sandpiper is a great traveller; it breeds in a limited area on the Arctic coast of North America and winters in extreme southern South America.
Spring.—From its winter home in South America, this sandpiper makes an early start; Dr. Alexander Wetmore (1926) writes:
At Guamini, Buenos Aires, from March 3 to 8, white-rumped sandpipers were encountered in northward migration from a winter range in Patagonia. ”

“ The Red-backed Sandpiper is not a bird architect and it does not build even a simple home. A slight hollow on a dry knoll, which commands a clear view of some body of water, is the site usually selected. Here the eggs are laid, either upon the dry grass already in the hollow or upon a few bits of leaves, twigs and grass hastily gathered and placed without order. After the appearance of the eggs the male seems to realize the responsibility of family cares, for his merry song ceases and he devotes his share of time to sitting on the nest, protecting the eggs with his warm body. ”

“ This sandpiper is among the early nesters, we having taken the first completed set of eggs on May 29, while by June 1 we had discovered 75. The middle of June found the downy young bursting forth, dainty creatures clad in black and brown with markings similar to those of the other sandpiper chicks.
Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1900) found this species breeding on the Arctic coast of Alaska, about 20 miles northeast of Cape Prince of Wales, on June 27 and 28; he writes:
The birds were found scattered out on the tundras whence they could be flushed from their nests or from where they had been feeding. ”

“ The males may be seen upon quivering wings flying after the female and uttering a musical, trilling note, which falls upon the ear like the mellow tinkle of large water-drops falling rapidly into a partly filled vessel. Imagine the sounds thus produced by the water run together into a steady and rapid trill some five or ten seconds in length, and the note of this Sandpiper is represented. ”

“ In flight, semipalmated sandpipers in flocks, large and small, often move as one bird, twisting and turning with military precision, alternately displaying their light breasts and darker backs—flashing white and then almost disappearing. The method which enables shore birds, or, indeed, any flocking bird, to accomplish these evolutions is obscure. In the case of the semipalmated sandpiper these [Pg 250] evolutions appear often to be made in silence, although it is of course possible that signals, not audible to the human observer, may be given. ”

“ Any pond, lake or stream will be visited sooner or later by these little sandpipers. You find them teetering along shores, picking up insects and small crustacea which form the diet. Mud banks, sandy shores, pebbly mountain streams, half-sunken logs, all furnish happy hunting grounds.
The teetering tail is distinctive and no other sandpiper has the round black spots on his breast and none has the fluttering flight. They seem to tip-toe thru the air with very short wingbeats. Young and adults in winter plumage do not show the spots but continue to teeter. ”

“ It is the most common wader of the north, the fjaerplyt of the walrus-hunters, the purple sandpiper (Tringa maritima, Brünn.) . It lives on flies, gnats, and other land insects. Its well-filled crop shows how well the bird knows how to collect its food even in regions where the entomologist can only with difficulty get hold of a few of the animal forms belonging to his field of research. The purple sandpiper lays its four or five eggs in a pretty little nest of dry straw on open grassy or mossy plains a little distance from the sea. ”

“ Nesting.—Herbert W. Brandt, who has had extensive experience with the nesting habits of this species, says in his manuscript notes:
The gentle little western sandpiper is the most abundant and most widely distributed shore bird occurring in the Hooper Bay region. Throughout the area, wherever dry ground is found, it is plentiful, and it even occurs on the lower mountain slopes of the Askinuk Range. ”

“ The bill of a long-billed semipalmated sandpiper is quite straight and becomes slender toward the end; that of a short-billed western is not so slender toward the end and with just an appreciable downward bend before its tip. In long-billed individuals of the western sandpiper the bill becomes slender toward the end and frequently has a decided drop at the tip. Such birds are unmistakably different to anyone thoroughly familiar with the semipalmated sandpiper. ”

“ On 27th I noticed a few small flocks containing both old and young birds in the same locality.
Machetes pugnax (Linn.) . Ruff.—Saw a single Ruff on Grainthorpe "fitties" on Sept. 6th.
Totanus hypoleucus (Linn.) . Common Sandpiper.—I found these birds abundant in all the marsh-drains near the coast on my arrival in Lincolnshire in the middle of August, and a few remained in the district until Sept. 28th.
T. ochropus (Linn.) . Green Sandpiper.—As in the case of the last species, the Green Sandpiper was abundant by the middle of August. ”

“ The common sandpiper, known also as the summer snipe, is a summer visitor, to be met with from April until the end of September in suitable places throughout the British Islands. He is an exceeding lively and restless little bird, running nimbly or flitting along the margin of the water; when standing, perpetually bobbing his head and jerking his tail, on which account he is named ‘fidler’ in some districts; solitary in habit, or living with his mate only, choosing for a home the most secluded spots by streams and meres. ”

“ It breeds in northern Europe. The black-winged stilt, which resembles the avocet in its black and white dress, but has longer legs and a straight bill, is a rare straggler from southern Europe. Of several species of sandpipers that appear as stragglers on our coasts during migration, there are two that have some claim to be regarded as British species. One is the wood-sandpiper (Totanus glareola) , which comes nearest to the green sandpiper in size, colour, and general appearance. It appears on the east and south coasts in autumn, in small flocks composed of young birds. ”

“ Its light, almost white, tail and rump contrast conspicuously with its uniformly dark back and wings; adults in worn nuptial plumage appear almost black on the upper parts; and there is no conspicuous white mark in the wings. The lesser yellow-legs is most likely to be confused with the long-legged stilt sandpiper in immature plumage; but the latter is somewhat smaller and has olive-colored legs instead of yellow. Adult stilt sandpipers, before they have entirely lost the barred under parts, can be recognized by these marks and by other characters described under that species. ”

“ But large as the numbers of the western sandpiper still appear to be, they are not comparable to those of fifteen or twenty years ago, and the cause of this decrease in their numbers is the same old story. It seems hardly possible that a bird so small could have been regarded as game and its hunting come under the name of sport, but such was the case and it brought about the logical result. ”

“ The well-known and well-named Solitary Sandpiper arrives later than the other birds of its family in La Plata, and differs greatly from them in its habits, avoiding the wet plains and muddy margins of lagoons and marshes where they mostly congregate, and making its home at the side of a small pool well sheltered by its banks, or by trees and herbage, and with a clear margin on which it can run freely. As long as there is any water in its chosen pool, though it may be only a small puddle at the bottom of a ditch, the bird will remain by it in solitary contentment. ”

“ As the least is more frequently found on tidal flats in the estuaries and in salt marshes, it is sometimes called the "mud peep," while the semipalmated, which especially delights in the sand beaches is called the "sand peep." Unfortunately this rule, although of general value, is far from absolute, and the birds often exchange places. The least sandpiper is more often found on the beach in the spring than in the fall. ”

“ The four eggs are pale olive- or buffish-brown, beautifully blotched and spotted, mottled and streaked with blackish- and reddish-brown and gray. The sitting bird lingers long upon her nest, sometimes remaining till almost trodden upon before she starts up, and, by feigning lameness, seeks to draw the intruder away. So closely is the Purple Sandpiper attached to the coast, that even during the nesting season, when its duties call it more or less inland, it always visits the shore to feed. ”

“ Sandpipers don't bore in the ground for their food, but just pick it up; so they keep along the shore of either fresh or salt water, some kinds choosing one place and some another. The Spotted Sandpiper is another of the little fellows who sometimes nests back in those meadows. ”

“ Sandpipers do not congregate like many others of the Waders; they come to us generally in pairs, and do not appear to flock together even when preparing to migrate. The nest is a slight depression in the ground, most frequently well concealed by rushes or other tufted foliage, and is constructed of a few dry leaves, stalks of grass, and scraps of moss. The Sandpiper lays four eggs, which are large, and quite disproportionate to the size of the bird. ”

“ While with us the white-rumped sandpiper frequents the wet meadows and marshes near the shore, as well as the sand flats, mud flats, and beaches, feeding at low tide singly or in small flocks and usually associated with pectoral, semipalmated, or least sandpipers. During high tides, while the flats are covered, this species may be seen on the high sandy beaches, mixed in with the vast flocks of small shorebirds, sleeping, or resting, or preening their plumage, while waiting for feeding time to come again; if the wind is blowing, all the birds are facing it ”

“ Field marks.—These have been discussed at length under least sandpiper to which the reader is referred, but may be summed up here as follows: a little larger than the least sandpiper, grayer, bill stouter and straight, tarsi and feet black, semipalmated. The young can be distinguished from the old in the field by their nearly white breasts washed with a smoky tint. In the hand their tarsi are seen to be black with a slight greenish hue. ”

“ Sandpiper is a very rare bird here, though it retains its British name—Common Sandpiper. Similarly, other European and American birds have been recorded, and the number of these far-wandering birds recorded from Australia is likely to be still further increased. The stout, short-legged Turnstone is the most cosmopolitan of birds. Breeding in Siberia, so widely does it roam, that it has visited almost every shore in the world, where, true to name, it turns the stones in search of sandhoppers. ”

“ Behavior.—The least sandpiper has always been a confiding and an unsuspicious bird, and these characteristics have increased since it has been protected at all seasons. So diligent are they in their search for food that they appear to take no notice of man if he remain quiet, and they run about almost at his feet. They are fascinating birds to watch. Not only are they gregarious, collecting in large and small flocks on the migrations, but they are also of a sociable disposition and associate amicably with other shore birds, large and small. ”

“ They have fairly long bills, but not so long as that of any of the species of snipe. They are often seen feeding—a statement [207] which cannot be made regarding the snipe. If you see a snipe-like bird feeding, you may be perfectly sure that it is not a snipe. It is a sandpiper of sorts, but it is not by any means easy to say which of the many sandpipers without shooting it. Descriptions of the common species of sandpiper follow:—
192. Totanus hypoleucus: The Common Sandpiper. (F. 1460) , (J. 893) , (+II, but with a very short tail, so that it actually measures less than a bulbul.) ”