Visitors 401
Modified 11-May-13
Created 24-Jun-10
67 photos
Shorebirds include the: avocets, oystercatchers, phalaropes, plovers, sandpipers, stilts, snipes, and turnstones. In general, they have long and thin legs with little to no webbing on their feet. They are usually small bodied with long thin bills. The differences in their bill lengths and shape allow the different shorebird species to forage for food within their habitat either on dry soil, mud, or in shallow water. They can be found in inter-tidal mudflats, estuaries, or salt marshes. Shorebird migration spans a great distance. The migratory paths are influenced by geography, wind, and weather patterns. During the spring, summer and fall migration, shorebirds rest and feed at stopover locations. Shorebirds eat a variety of invertebrate prey such as worms, insect larva, amphipods, copepods, crustaceans, and mollusks. - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Greater Yellowlegs

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Common Tern

Black Skimmer

Killdeer

Purple Sandpiper

Willet

Black-bellied Plover in breeding plumage

Red Knot