Is there a shorebird with a more enchanting name than the Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis? If so, let me know. This is one of my favorite shorebirds for many reasons. First is that it is rare and easy to identify. Second is that it seems to be oddly unaware of humans who are nearby. Like this bird today, who just seemed to prance right along just a few meters in front of us, they seem to just ignore people who are watching them. In addition they are a really good looking bird, with their buffy-tan coloration, their oddly large black eye in their otherwise blank-looking face, and their back that has feathers with black centers and light edging. The tend to prance along with their heads held upright, raising their feet high like they are marching.
The Buff-breasted Sandpiper breeds only in the tundra of North America, in Canada and Alaska, and migrates primarily in the central plains flyway, but occasionally a juvenile like this bird strays west of the Rocky and Cascade mountain range to be seen in Western Washington.
They have other interesting life-cycle characteristics. The males gather and display to attract a female to mate with on what is called a "lek" and the female then chooses the dominant male as her mate, and then raises the young alone.
They are long-distance migrants, wintering in southern South America before returning to breed. There only an estimated 56,000 individuals left in the world, although this is a rough estimate, it is a relatively uncommon bird.
Here are a few more photos of the bird seen today.
Thanks for following. Good birding.
