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There are five "peep" sandpipers: the semipalmated, Western, least, white-rumped, and Baird's. These spring Westerns are very rare; most birds pass through in late fall, after the similar semipalmated sandpipers have left.
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Western Sandpiper
Calidris mauri
At-a-Glance
• Incubation: 20-22 days
• Clutch Size: 4 eggs
• Young Fledge: 19-21 days after hatching
• Typical Foods: aquatic invertebrates
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Description
Western sandpipers can usually be told from the semipalmated by the larger, drooping bill, paler head, and slightly rusty scapulars.
Habitat and Habits
These sandpipers inhabit mudflats and exposed lake shorelines. They tend to remain in the wettest areas near water and even forage in shallow water. While they look similar, the calls of the Western and semipalmated sandpipers are quite different. The Western has a very distinctive fast rolling brrrrrrr call, as well as squeaks reminiscent of an American woodcock's wing noise made during courtship flights. Flocks make sounds suggestive of a distant flock of house sparrows.
Reproduction and Care of the Young
Breeding takes place in Alaska. The eggs are laid in a depression in the ground on wet or dry tundra. |
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