Now that my nest monitoring has come to a close, I’m spending my Sundays at Jericho Beach Park. Yesterday I encountered a group of three Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri) foraging on some rocks as the tide retreated. They didn’t pay me much mind and I was able to inch quite close to get some good photos of these fascinating and oh-so-tiny shorebirds.

Western Sandpipers

A close-up portrait showing the often distinctive rich chestnut colouration in their mantle.

The trio on a barnacle-encrusted rock.

The bird on the right apparently trying to figure out what I’m up to.

Western Sandpipers primarily eat marine invertebrates, arthropods, bivalve molluscs, and biofilm.

A little over-the-shoulder pose…

This individual appears to be further along than the other two in its molt into basic plumage (often called non-breeding, but that isn’t always necessarily the case) which is a much plainer overall grey-brown. Compare with the photo above.

Franklin’s Gull

As luck would have it, a young Franklin’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan) that’s been frequenting nearby beaches made an appearance with a host of other gull species foraging through the seaweed at low-tide. Despite laying down in the wet sand, I didn’t get any great photos.

These gulls are found in the central North America, breeding in the prairie marshes of central Canada, and wintering all along the west coast of South America. They’re rare visitors here in the Lower Mainland.

Until next time…

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