Baird's Sandpiper
Calidris bairdii
Habitat
Ground
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
41 g
About This Species
A long-distance migrant, this small shorebird breeds in the high Arctic and passes through open mudflats, lakeshores, and short grassy margins on its way to and from South America. Look for it picking steadily at the surface rather than probing deeply, often in the company of other small sandpipers on migration stopovers. Spring and especially autumn passage periods are the most reliable times to see it well away from the Arctic breeding grounds.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Stay back at least the width of the mudflat or beach and avoid walking directly at a feeding flock, since flushing migrating shorebirds repeatedly costs them the energy reserves they need to complete long journeys.
- Migratory shorebirds are protected under wildlife and migratory bird treaties across most of the countries they pass through, though enforcement and specific distances vary by jurisdiction.
- Viewing from a fixed spot and letting birds feed toward you is far less disruptive than approaching them directly.
LCAvesCharadriiformesScolopacidae
Seasonal Activity
346,003 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 41 g
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.