spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularia)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

 

IDENTIFICATION:

• Length: 6.25 inches

• Fairly small, short-legged shorebird

• Yellowish or pinkish legs

• White wingstripe visible in flight

• Teeters tail when feeding and walking

• Distinctive, stiff winged, fluttery flight on bowed wings

• Sexes similar

• Juvenile similar to basic-plumaged adult

Adult alternate:

• Orange bill with a black tip

• Pale supercilium and dark eyeline

• Brown head, hindneck, back, and upperwings with small black bars

• White throat, breast and belly with bold black spots

Adult basic:

• Variably dark bill with pale base

• Pale brown head with dark eyeline and pale supercilium

• Plain dark back, upperwings with dark and buff bars

• Sides of breast brown, with finger of white extending up in front of        leading edge of wing when at rest

• Throat, breast, and belly white, without dark spots

Similar species:

Solitary sandpiper is larger and has a bold eyering, no wing stripe,
white-spotted upperparts and a different flight style. The Eurasian
common sandpiper, a rare migrant, is very similar to basic and
juvenile-plumaged spotted sandpipers. The spotted sandpiper
has a shorter tail, shorter white wing stripe, more barred wing
coverts and, as a juvenile, tertials that are marked with buff only
at the tip.

 

LIFE HISTORY

Migration Status: N/A
Breeding Habitat: Wetland-open water
Nest Location: N/A
Nest Type: N/A
Clutch Size: 4
Length of Incubation: 20-24 days
Days to Fledge: 17-21
Number of Broods: Usually 2-3, exceptionally to 5
Diet: Almost exclusively aquatic invertebrates.

 

SKY MEADOWS DISTRIBUTION/SEASONAL OCCURRENCE

 

Relative abundance and seasonal occurrence are indicated in red below.

 

Relative abundance
     C - Common: Likely to be present in good numbers in appropriate habitat and season.
     U - Uncommon: May be present in appropriate habitat and season, often in low
            numbers.
     O - Occassional: Found in appropriate habitat perhaps only a few times per season,
            sometimes low numbers.
     R - Rare: May not be recorded every year.
     Acc - Accidental: Recorded once or twice, may not be expected again for a long time.

 

Seasonal Occurrence
      Sp - Spring: March, April, May R
      Su - Summer: June, July, August R
      Fall: September, October, November Acc

      Winter: December, January, February

 

 

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