Least Sandpipers

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Least Sandpipers

July 20, 2015 by Mike Powell

I can’t help but wonder if Least Sandpipers (Calidris minutilla) suffer from an inferiority complex, surrounded as they are by “Great” Blue Herons and “Great” Egrets.

Early Saturday morning, I spotted a small flock of these tiny birds at my local marsh in an area where the water levels were really low, revealing a muddy area with shallow pools of water that seemed perfect for these little wading birds. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website, the Least Sandpiper is the smallest shorebird in the world, weighing in at about one ounce (28 grams) and measuring five to six inches long (13-15 cm).

I suspect that these Least Sandpipers are in the process of migration, probably eventually heading further south. At this time of the year we start to see all kinds of unusual birds that make brief stops at my local marshland on their way to more distant destinations.

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Calidris minutilla, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Least Sandpiper, migrating shorebirds, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 8 Comments

8 Responses

on July 20, 2015 at 7:32 am | Reply FinlayDuncanBL

Hi Michael, some wonderful photos of nature here, great job!
Here in Europe we’re trying to protect the kind of habitats where these photos are taken, but lawmakers have other ideas. The European Union has laws which protect a number of plant and animal species and also their habitats in Europe, but they’re looking at undermining these laws – we need you and your followers to help save them! We have until Friday before a public consultation on the Birds and Habitats Directives (the names of the laws in question) closes.
Can you encourage everyone to put their name to the Nature Alert campaign please? More details here: http://tiny.cc/naturealert
Every person counts!
on July 20, 2015 at 8:30 am | Reply Lyle Krahn

It’s nice to see the variety that migration brings.
- on July 20, 2015 at 11:00 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Send some more my way, Lyle. Why can’t I have some loons?
on July 20, 2015 at 9:28 am | Reply Least Sandpipers | Gaia Gazette

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on July 20, 2015 at 9:29 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

I saw a small shorebird at a local pond the other day too, but I haven’t been able to ID it.
- on July 20, 2015 at 10:59 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Shore birds are really tough to identify–so many of them look so similar. I got lucky enough to be able to get a good look at the bill and the legs and that helped me eliminate a couple of other possibilities.
on July 25, 2015 at 4:56 pm | Reply Sue

Really nice photos of these guys. They are tough to get very close to, but it looks like you managed quite well with that super telephoto lens.
- on July 25, 2015 at 6:19 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Sue. Over the course of this past year, I’ve gotten much more comfortable with that lens. It’s right near the limit of size and weight for me to handhold, but if I am mindful of my settings and technique, it can deliver some pretty good results. (I have a lot less envy now of the guys with the super expensive, super big 500mm and 600mm lenses.)