Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper at water's edge

Spotted sandpipers typically are first seen in my area near the end of April and this year was no exception.  This small shorebird is easily identified by its spotted underside, its near constant bobbing, and its stuttering flight of rapid wingbeats interspersed by short glides. 

Spotted sandpipers forage along the shoreline and over the years I have noticed that early in the morning they frequent the earth and rock dam of the local lake.  Insects perched on the rocks are easy picking for the sandpipers.

And even crevasses are not safe spots to hide from these fast moving sharp eyes little birds.

Spotted Sandpiper

April 15th I encountered my first Spotted Sandpiper of the year.  I have read where April 20th is considered the average date for the spotted sandpipers to arrive in Pennsylvania so this bird was right on time.  These interesting little birds are commonly seen running along the edges of ponds and lakes bobbing their tails when standing as well as when running.  During flight they repeat a series of rapid stiff wing-beats followed by short glides. 

Although our area is listed as being part of their breeding range I have only observed them during a few weeks during spring and fall.  This bird is displaying full breeding plumage, when they return in autumn the breast spots for which they are named are conspicuously missing.

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Spotted Sandpiper

During my early morning outing, I noticed a flock of Spotted Sandpipers running about on the earthen breastwall of the dam. Upon my approach all but two flew to a shaded area so I concentrated my attention upon the remaining birds. I adjusted my trolling motor to its slowest setting and over the next one-half hour worked these birds until they allowed me to maneuver to within a few yards.

By the conclusion of this session I had shot over one hundred images. As these birds move quickly, many were poorly posed and some blurred. After heavy deletion, I still had thirty eight images that made the grade. Of the image, this one which caught the bird with wings momentarily lifted while posed by the waters edge and it’s reflection visible in the water, stood out above all of the rest

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