Get Outdoors - Birds & Wildlife: Shorebirds

Shorebirds are small, beautiful birds that live near wetlands, particularly coastal wetlands. They are usually speckled brown, rusty, and white on the back and some have white or black patches on the head, breasts, or belly. They blend in well with the sandy, muddy, or grassy areas where they feed and nest. Their camouflage helps protect them from predators such as eagles, hawks, gulls, and foxes.

Shorebirds have very stately posture. They stand on very straight long legs. They use their long pointed bills to probe in the mud or water for small animals to eat. Shorebirds have long pointed wings and are strong, fast fliers.

Many shorebirds migrate long distances between their summer and winter homes. Most Arctic nesting shorebirds spend the winter in South America and fly all the way to northern Alaska to breed, nest, and rear their young. Many species of shorebirds form large flocks for the long migrations between North America and South America.

When they are migrating, shorebirds feed upon tiny clams, insects, snails, sand fleas, and worms in the mud and sand near the water's edge. Shorebirds with short bills probe for animals which live very near the surface. Those with longer bills can reach animals buried deeper in the mud. During the breeding season in the northern grassy tundra, they feed on insects, grubs, and worms.

Sandpipers, dowitchers, dunlins, and plovers are some common shorebirds. Other shorebirds are godwits, phalaropes, surfbirds, whimbrels, curlews, and turnstones.

Some people think shorebirds are hard to identify, especially at first, but anyone can learn if they know what to look for. Here are some clues:

Notice the size and color. Large shorebirds are about the size of a crow. Small shorebirds are about the size of a sparrow.
Notice whether a shorebird has spots or streaks on its breast. Look for distinct white, rust, or black patches.
Is the bill long or short? Is it straight or curved slightly up or down? What color is the bill?
What color are the legs?
When the bird is flying, can you see wing stripes, or a distinct tail pattern?
Observe its behavior. Is the bird you are observing alone, in a small group, or part of a large flock?

Shorebirds contribute to a healthy ecosystem. Their droppings, called guano, fertilize the mudflats in which they feed and the water over which they fly. The guano helps microscopic plants, called phytoplankton, to grow. The phytoplankton are the base of the food chain upon which the fish we eat depend. Shorebirds are important to us.

Shorebirds depend on wetlands for food. Wetlands are marshes, river deltas, mud flats, and intertidal areas. When humans fill wetlands with gravel to construct parking lots and buildings, shorebirds cannot find food. Many shorebirds return instinctively to the same feeding areas every time they migrate. If the wetlands to which they return each year by instinct are destroyed, they do not have the instinct to look somewhere else.