Well it’s not unheard of but pretty rare to see Pectoral Sandpipers in Shasta County. You see the Pectoral Sandpiper is a medium-sized sandpiper that breeds on wet tundra in both the North American and Siberian Arctic and winters mostly in southern South America1. I know range maps basically show the “average” or “normal” range of species but notice that this map shows pretty much nothing west of the Rockies in the U.S.
You would probably also notice that this looks like it would be a long migration from breeding grounds to wintering habitat for this bird and you would be correct. The Pectoral Sandpipertravels over 18,000 miles from its breeding grounds to its wintering habitat and back. A distance similar to that flown by the Arctic Tern.
According to the local listserv, Shasta Birders, there were six of these beauties seen in a horse pasture across from Lone Tree Pond, a local known birding spot. You can find a local listserv at the American Birding Association website here.
Since this would be a life bird for me, I decided I should check it out. I found five.
During migration Pectoral Sandpipers usuallyfeed along edges of ponds or on algal mats away from the water’s edge, among vegetation. They are often found with other shorebirds like these much smallerLeast Sandpipers (Calidris minutilla)…
or these much largerLong-billed Dowitchers (Limnodromus scolopaceus).
As a bonus, there were severalWilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata) playing hide and seek in the vegetation along the edges of the pasture.
To see more great bird photos from around the world, check out The Bird D’pot and Wild Bird Wednesday!
References:1Birds of North America Online
Larry Jordan
Larry Jordan is an avid birder and amateur photographer living on the Pacific Flyway near the Central Valley of Northern California. He is a board member of his local Audubon Society and is a bird and wildlife conservationist. Larry contributes to several wildlife conservation organizations and is a BirdLife International "Species Champion." He is also Habitat Manager for the Burrowing Owl Conservation Network, an organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Western Burrowing Owl population in the United States. Larry has been blogging about birds since September of 2007 at TheBirdersReport.com
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