This sandpiper has scaled patterns on its uppers, has buffy tones, and is generally paleheaded. It usually has other peeps near, but tends to forage upon drier substrate. It is very rare to find it on wet mudflats or in the water. Baird's Sandpiper will be found as a migratory bird in the western three-quarters of the country. It will winter from Peru to southern Argentina as a bind in dry, grassy areas near wetlands and ponds.
A medium sized shorebird, its black legs match its bill, and it is known as a peep or a stint, as are other small shorebirds.
Named after Spencer Fullerton Baird, once employed by the Smithsonian Institution and a 19th century naturalist, not only was he a museum curator, but he was well versed in nature and the expansion of the museum's collection of specimens so that we might all enjoy them.
These birds do not probe looking for food, instead picking their chosen morsels right from the surface of the ground. The young will continue to feed mostly on insects, but they also take small crustaceans.
Baird's Sandpiper
Fort Supply 2016
In fall, adults fly from the High Arctic breeding grounds right into the Great Plains via a narrow route. Conversely, young birds who were abandoned by their parents to migrate alone will fan out in a much broader swath, and could well even visit both the Atlantic and Pacific coastal areas. In the spring, they will take the direct route to the breeding grounds instead of adding the extra coastal mileage.
Both Baird's and the White-rumped Sandpiper have wingtips that extend beyond the tail's end and often cross it. If visiting a beach during migration, they are generally seen above the wrack-line, which is where debris is found after being deposited by high tide.
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