Least Sandpipers on the Sacramento River photos by Larry Jordan
Across the small inlet from the Wilson’s Snipes, Killdeer and Greater Yellowlegs, on the edge of the Sacramento River we found several Least Sandpipers foraging on a rocky sandbar. We found these shorebirds during the Anderson CBC, in the same location where I photographed the Bald Eagles in the previous post. This is a section of the river known as the Sacramento River Bend Area, managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Even though we saw the Bald Eagles, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron and several other impressive birds at this bend in the river, the little 6 inch Least Sandpipers enthralled me as they stuck their heads underwater to feed for invertebrates on the cobbled sandbar just a few yards away.
Of course, sticking their heads into freezing cold water is no big deal for these little guys, they are only here to winter. They breed in the sub-arctic tundra and far northern boreal forest of North America, some birds migrating over 2,000 miles to their wintering grounds.
One of the coolest things about this encounter was that the Least Sandpipers paid no mind to me as I clicked away. They actually came closer…
showing me that slightly down-turned beak, and approaching even closer into the shallow water…
showing off those yellowish legs that distinguish the Least Sandpiper from the Semipalmated and Western species.
Even though our group tallied 69 species in our section of the Anderson Christmas Bird Count, including a pair of White-tailed Kites (too far off to photograph), watching these Least Sandpipers was the highlight of my day.
Make your day a great one by checking out the other great bird photos at Bird Photography Weekly!
14 responses so far ↓
1 Mick // Jan 16, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Very nice photos of the Sandpipers. Not in my post this time – but last week I saw the first breeding plumage on a Bar-tailed Godwit for this season – already getting ready for their northern migration.
Mick´s last blog ..Tawny Frogmouth
2 Nicole // Jan 17, 2010 at 1:07 am
Those are lovely!
I totally adore the one with the head under water.
Nicole´s last blog ..Blue Swallow, Hirundo atrocaerulea, Stahlschwalbe
3 Eileen // Jan 17, 2010 at 2:34 am
Larry, great post and shots of the Least Sandpipers.
Eileen´s last blog ..Cormorants
4 Wren // Jan 17, 2010 at 5:33 am
Much cuter than the marshmallow kind of peeps.
Larry, until I read your blog I had no idea how birdy the Sacramento area was. Thank you for sharing all the great birds, animals, and other natural phenomena in your neck of the woods.
Wren´s last blog ..bald eagle at sitka raptor center
5 Jill // Jan 17, 2010 at 8:50 am
such cute little guys, Larry. Love the picture series, always makes me smile when their heads disappear in the mud!
Jill´s last blog ..Hibiscus in the morning
6 jason // Jan 17, 2010 at 9:32 am
Delightful! They’re darling little critters, aren’t they? And what a gift it was to have them carry on with their business without minding your presence at all.
7 NatureFooostep Fåglar/Birds // Jan 17, 2010 at 1:13 pm
nice birds. I just started to learn about them.
Bur here they are shy and leave as soon as you even watch them
NatureFooostep Fåglar/Birds´s last blog ..Grönsångare – Phylloscopus sibilatrix – Wood Warbler
8 bob k // Jan 17, 2010 at 4:42 pm
I’ll never get tired watching these little buggers! They’re so cute and quite bold, too! Great photos, you got there, Larry!
bob k´s last blog ..Take a Haiku
9 Larry // Jan 18, 2010 at 12:23 am
@Mick thanks. I would love to see them in breeding plumage
@Nicole I liked that one too
@Eileen thank you very much
@Wren thank you for all your support! I love sharing the wonderful birds of Northern California and feel especially lucky to live close to so many good birding spots
@Jill cute they definitely are
@Jason thank you very much. Like you I really appreciate the rapport I develop with the birds I photograph. I am very impressed with your photos and relationship with Baket.
For those of you who don’t know Jason’s work, check it out. I promise you will be impressed: http://xenogere.com
@Nature thanks. The more you work at getting closer, the better you get
@Bob thanks, I had a great time watching them
10 Dale Forbes // Jan 18, 2010 at 4:29 am
Hi Larry, good to hear you will be getting in to digiscoping!
you may want to check out our new digiscoping website for tips and tricks:
http://www.swarovskioptik.com/en/digiscoping
Happy birding
Dale Forbes
http://alpinebirds.blogspot.com
Dale Forbes´s last blog ..Goldeneye takeoff digiscoped with TLS800 and Canon 5DII
11 chris // Jan 19, 2010 at 2:28 am
Hi Larry,
wow you got to see a nice list of birds and I love your pictures. The low angle is magnificent!
chris´s last blog ..Nasty weather but…
12 Larry // Jan 19, 2010 at 6:21 am
@Dale thanks for the tips!
@Chris thank you, I was laying on my belly for those shots
13 ramblingwoods // Jan 19, 2010 at 1:50 pm
How sweet they are and you caught their behaviors beautifully. I wonder about these birds that nest up north as I watch juncos enjoying our western NY winter.. Thank you for the link to the post on crows. I can always count on you to have the latest info on the conservation of birds and a lot of other birdy info… Michelle
14 Amber Coakley // Jan 19, 2010 at 6:52 pm
I love the little one who has stuck his head down into the water/sand! I wish I could do that sometimes.
Amber Coakley´s last blog ..New Recurring Feature: What I Love About Nature
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