Semipalmated Sandpiper

Calidris pusilla

The feet of Semipalmated and Western Sandpipers are partially webbed, and so describes the semipalmate’d name of this bird. Both of these peeps have black legs which help distinguish them from the third member of the peep clan, the Least Sandpiper which has greenish-yellow legs. The Western Sandpiper’s bill is longer than the Semipalmated Sandpiper and droops slightly, which helps differentiate its identify and tell you which peep you might be seeing.

Semipalmated Sandpipers mainly spend winters along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of South America and on islands of the Caribbean. With spring they migrate to the northern limits of the North America continent to breed. Most of their population passes through eastern North America and they are seldom encountered in western USA.