Calidris pusilla
While most of the North American continent feasts twice yearly on the great migrations of 'wind birds,' the passage of shorebirds through the Rockies amounts to little more than table scraps. Rocky Mountain shorelines are visited yearly by small numbers of Semipalmated Sandpipers, which peck and probe in mechanized fury, replenishing their body fat for the remainder of their long trip. Although the mountains may not host the abundance of Semis found elsewhere, our wetlands are just as vital to individual birds. Semipalmated Sandpipers migrate almost the entire length of the Americas, and they require that their migratory pit stops provide ample food resources. 'Semipalmated' refers to the slight webbing between this bird's front toes. The scientific name pusilla is Latin for 'petty' or 'small.' |
I.D.: Sexes similar: all-dark, short, straight bil; dark legs. Breeding: mottled upperparts; rufous ear patch; faint streaks on the upper breast and flanks. Non-breeding: gray-brown upperparts; white underparts; faint, white eyebrow. In flight: narrow, white wing stripe; white rump is split by a black line. Size: L 51/2-7 in. (14-18 cm). Range: uncommon fall migrant along the eastern slopes of the Rockies; uncommon spring and fall migrant west of the Rockies. Habitat: mudflats and shorelines of ponds and lakes up to the subalpine. Nesting: in the Arctic; on a small mound or tussock; in a slight depression lined with grass, moss and leaves; pair incubates 4 eggs for 18-22 days. Feeding: probes soft substrates and gleans the surface for aquatic insects and crustaceans. Voice: flight call is a harsh cherk. Similar Species: Western Sandpiper: longer, slightly downcurved bill. Least Sandpiper: pale legs. Dunlin: downcurved bill. |
