Western Sandpiper

Scratchy notes wobble into little trills, followed near the end by a handful of shorter calls.

Long-distance migrant. Breeds in sub-Arctic Alaska and Chukotka; winters along both coasts of North and South America from central California and the Carolinas south to Peru and Venezuela. Scarce but regular on the Hawaiian Islands and Caribbean.

Mudflats, tidal lagoons, sandy beaches, estuaries, salt-marsh edges, and occasionally flooded agricultural fields during migration. Nests on low, hummocky tundra near pools and dwarf shrubs in western Alaska and far eastern Siberia.

• Breeding: late May – mid-July on Arctic tundra • Southbound migration: July – October (peaks Aug–Sep) • Wintering: November – March on tropical and subtropical coasts • Northbound migration: April – May (peaks late Apr)

The Western Sandpiper is one of North America’s smallest and most numerous shorebirds. A member of the "peeps," it sports a short body, long pointed wings, and a thin black bill that droops noticeably at the tip. In spring it transforms into a rusty-capped sprite; in fall and winter it molts to plain gray, blending with the tidal flats on which it feeds.