Friday's Foto

As its common name implies, unlike most other sandpipers, the Solitary Sandpiper is rarely seen in flocks, but rather singly. This small sandpiper prefers a variety of freshwater habitats including stream sides, wooded swamps and ponds, fresh marshes, as well as, along the edges of irrigation canals. Like the similar Spotted Sandpiper, they perpetually bob their rear end. They are mainly insectivores, however they are also known to eat frogs, fish, mollusks, worms and small crustaceans. Ninety percent of the global population of Solitary Sandpiper breeds in the boreal forest of North America, from western Alaska to Labrador and south to the northern shores of the Great Lakes. It nests in the lower 48 only in extreme northeastern Minnesota. They winter from the extreme southern United States, south to Central America, the Caribbean, and tropical South America, reaching central Argentina on the east side. The Solitary Sandpiper is the only North American sandpiper species that nests in trees, often using the abandoned nests of Rusty Blackbirds, Bohemian Waxwings, Gray Jays or American Robins.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists this species as “Least Concern” primarily due to it’s extremely large range and apparent stable population trend.

The Solitary Sandpiper’s scientific name, Tringa solitaria, means “thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird” and “solitary”.