Pectoral Sandpiper
Calidris melanotos

Pectoral Sandpipers breed in the high Arctic tundra in northern Canada, Alaska, or Siberia, and usually migrate east of the Rocky Mountains. The bird I met in San Diego must have made a wrong turn somewhere when it left its birth home. Most Pectoral Sandpipers winter in South America, but some migrate to south Australia or New Zealand.
Like many shorebirds, Pectoral Sandpiper populations are in decline. Studies show their numbers have dropped by 50% since 1974.
Field marks that help identify this species are the heavily striped breast, and the contrasting white belly. During courting displays, male birds inflate a fat sac in their breasts, giving the appearance of enlarged “pecs”, and hence we gave them the common name Pectoral Sandpiper.
Science considers these birds as monotypic, meaning there are no recognised subspecies.
My first meeting with this species was a chance encounter with a juvenile bird in July 2010 in the Sorrento Valley (San Diego County, California). This late July sighting would have been a recently hatched bird on its way from the high Arctic to southern South America. I didn’t meet the adults until the spring of 2021 on South Padre Island in Texas. These April birds would have been headed north to spawn a new generation.
11 Photos

Pectoral Sandpiper(Calidris melanotos) |
Description: (Calidris melanotos) Part of the collection at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology in Camarillo, California USA 2011-11-01. |
Date Taken: 2011:11:01 15:10 |
Location:
W F V Z |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 105 mm, f/8.0, 1/1 |
File Name: D3X4588-PectoralSandPiper |
© 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Pectoral Sandpiper(Calidris melanotos) |
Description: (Calidris melanotos) Part of the collection at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology in Camarillo, California USA 2011-11-01. |
Date Taken: 2011:11:01 15:10 |
Location:
W F V Z |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 105 mm, f/8.0, 1/1 |
File Name: D3X4591-PectoralSandPiper |
© 2011 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Pectoral Sandpiper(Calidris melanotos) |
Description: (Calidris melanotos) Foraging in the swampy margins of the Penasquitos slough in Sorrento Valley, San Diego County, California USA 2010-07-23. |
Date Taken: 2010:07:23 11:43 |
Location:
Sorrento |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/640 |
File Name: JCD2643.PectoralSandPiper |
© 2010 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Pectoral Sandpiper(Calidris melanotos) |
Description: (Calidris melanotos) Foraging in the swampy margins of the Penasquitos slough in Sorrento Valley, San Diego County, California USA 2010-07-23. |
Date Taken: 2010:07:23 12:06 |
Location:
Sorrento |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/800 |
File Name: JCD2723.PectoralSandPiper |
© 2010 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Pectoral Sandpiper(Calidris melanotos) |
Description: (Calidris melanotos) Foraging in the swampy margins of the Penasquitos slough in Sorrento Valley, San Diego County, California USA 2010-07-23. |
Date Taken: 2010:07:23 12:06 |
Location:
Sorrento |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/800 |
File Name: Cut_JCD2723.PectoralSandPiper |
© 2010 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Pectoral Sandpiper(Calidris melanotos) |
Description: Pectoral Sandpipers foraged in the marsh to fuel up before heading north to their breeding grounds in the high Arctic. Having finished with the Great Texas Birding Classic on Sunday, I was eager to return to South Padre Island, where I knew Green Herons were raising families at the Bird and Nature Center. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:27 9:13 |
Location:
Convention Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: PectoralSandpiper_D5X2117_SPI-ConventionCentre |
© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Pectoral Sandpiper(Calidris melanotos) |
Description: Pectoral Sandpipers exploited the lawns for foraging here, but no other shorebirds showed any interest. My stay at the Convention Centre was relatively brief this Thursday. There was a lull in the migration, but even on a slow day good things can occur here. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:22 12:42 |
Location:
Convention Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/3000 |
File Name: PectoralSandpiper_D5X1035SPI_ConventionCentre |
© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Pectoral Sandpiper(Calidris melanotos) |
Description: Pectoral Sandpipers exploited the lawns for foraging here, but no other shorebirds showed any interest. My stay at the Convention Centre was relatively brief this Thursday. There was a lull in the migration, but even on a slow day good things can occur here. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:22 12:41 |
Location:
Convention Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: PectoralSandpiper_D5X1022SPI_ConventionCentre |
© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Pectoral Sandpiper(Calidris melanotos) |
Description: Pectoral Sandpipers seemed equally at home foraging on the lawns, as they were in the marsh. Bird activity on Tuesday’s visit to South Padre Island was slightly less hectic than it was on the weekend, but it gave me some great bird encounters, including two birds brand new to me. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:20 12:19 |
Location:
Convention Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/3000 |
File Name: PectoralSandpiper_D5X9589SPI_ConventionCtr |
© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Pectoral Sandpiper(Calidris melanotos) |
Description: Pectoral Sandpipers seemed equally at home foraging on the lawns, as they were in the marsh. Bird activity on Tuesday’s visit to South Padre Island was slightly less hectic than it was on the weekend, but it gave me some great bird encounters, including two birds brand new to me. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:20 16:39 |
Location:
Convention Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: PectoralSandpiper_D5X0019SPI_ConventionCtr |
© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Pectoral Sandpiper(Calidris melanotos) |
Description: I took a break from the swarm of warblers and warbler lovers to visit the marsh, and I met this foraging sandpiper. This weekend provided the “perfect storm” for a warbler fallout on South Padre Island; a cold north wind, rain, and a ton of birds trying to head north. |
Date Taken: 2021:04:17 13:36 |
Location:
Convention Center |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/750 |
File Name: PectoralSandpiper_D5X7089-SPI_ConventionCtr |
© 2021 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |

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