Semipalmated Sandpiper
Sandy beach skiers
The sandy beach runners (Calidris pusilla ) is a widespread, monotypic species of the family of the Waders, which breeds in the southern tundra of Alaska and Canada. He is an occasional Irrgast in Europe and is seen almost every year in the UK and Ireland.
Description
The sandy beach runner is one of the smaller beach runner with a body length of 16 centimeters. Fully-grown birds have dark legs and a short, straight dark bill. The body top is gray-brown, the underparts white contrast. The head and neck are pale gray-brown. It is very difficult to distinguish from other Calidris species, namely the Calidris mauri.
Sandy beach runner nest on the ground. The male scratches several ground wells. The female is the one that selects one of these ground-hollows as nesting and this auspolstert with grass and other material. The average clutch is four eggs. The male is involved in the breeding business. After a few days, the female leaves the male, which leads the young birds.
Dissemination
The sandy beach is a runner nearktischer breeding bird north of the tree line to the west and the center of Alaska and northern Canada. They breed occasionally in northeastern Siberia.
Sandy beach runners are long- distance migrants. They winter mainly in the coastal region of South America. Only a small part of the population spends the winter in the southern U.S.. The birds migrate in large flocks in the wintering areas. The troops can occasionally contain up to 100,000 birds. Well-known collections of this species are the Bay of Fundy and Delaware Bay.
The birds seek their feed in the mud of coastal areas. They primarily eat aquatic insects and crustaceans.