Migratory shorebirds make a stop in Texas on the long journey south
Champion migratory birds, collectively called shorebirds, are arriving along Gulf shorelines, peaking in numbers between now and Labor Day.
While the coronavirus pandemic could limit our visits to the coast, we can still look for shorebirds at nearby inland waterways and fields. For example, least sandpipers will show up in sizable numbers along the edges of neighborhood ponds, lakes, bayous and muddy fields.
The sparrow-size birds have sharp-pointed beaks drooping down toward the tip. They use their beaks to vigorously pluck crustaceans from the mud along waterways.
Least sandpipers are the smallest of three petite sandpipers called “peeps,” the other two being western and semipalmated sandpipers. But least sandpipers are the only ones with yellow legs, making them easy to pick out, unless
the legs are muddy.
The bird also differs from the other two peeps by having dark streaks on its back and dark streaks on the breast resembling a frowzy bib. The other two peeps have dark legs and a lighter brown plumage than least sandpipers.
All three peeps breed in the high Arctic and make an astonishing migration to winter homes in Texas or Latin America; the semipalmated sandpipers winter in South America.
Pectoral sandpipers breed on the top of the world in the high Arctic and migrate all the way to places such as Argentina and other spots in southern South America. But they stop along the way in our area to feed in fields, pastures and along lakeshores.
The birds are noticeably larger than peeps and typically stand with head and neck held erect, like a sentry. Dark streaks on the breast form a neatly edged bib.
Meanwhile, sanderlings will be arriving on coastal beaches. They’re easy to pick out because they’re the only ones racing frenetically up and down the shoreline at the fringes of incoming waves. They’re simply snatching up marine organisms that wash ashore.
Sanderlings are the only shorebirds with complete white bellies, which clinch their identification. The russet-speckled heads of breeding plumage will be present on some birds but will turn dingy white in nonbreeding plumage.
The hyperactive birds breed among the Arctic Archipelago and will stop to rest along the Texas coast during their migratory journey as far south as Tierra del Fuego. But many will claim nearby Gulf shores for a winter home.