This is the time of year when juvenile shorebbirds, born this summer in the Arctic, are migrating through our area. This is a Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii, a relatively uncommon species for our area. The story of migration of these juvenile shorebirds is incredible. They are born with feathers, eyes open, and able to walk and forage for food on their own. Within days after hatching their parents depart on their southward migration, leaving the baby birds to feed, grow, learn fly, and then to migrate thousands of miles to their wintering grounds. Somehow these birds just know where to go. This individual stopped to feed and restore its body fat stores in order to continue the migration on a beach in University Place, WA.
This juvenile Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri weighs only about 26 grams, yet is able to fly along with hundreds of thousands of other juvenile Western Sandpipers from the Arctic Tundra to their southern wintering grounds.
Welcome back young birds! Safe travels.
Good birding.
